Loving the Dark Heart
by Maxton
Summary: The story of a man with a twice broken heart. Will he accept his feelings for a being society says is unworthy of love and compassion? Male human x female xenomorph pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Loving the Dark Heart

 **Authors note. Hey guys id like to thank fan fiction author** CelfwrDderwydd **for inspiring me to write my first fan fiction story. I also want to thank him personally for his massive amount of assistance he is providing me. I am indebted to him for his kind contributions to my story and its development.**

 **Please read his stories Astral Link, The Golden Door, and Heart of the Hive. They are fantastic. Its my goal for my characters to eventually end up on Zerichs II with his original characters in a later story.**

 **This story starts 3 years prior to the events of** CelfwrDderwydd's **story Astral link.**

 **Authors note 2. Big thanks to** CelfwrDderwydd **for making the new cover art for my story!**

As Tom glanced at the clock, he was unhappy. It was nearly time to go home. The choice made for him he gathered up his gear. An assortment of various gloves and wraps, his groin cup and change of clothing. He was 5'8" with dark blonde hair that was cut short. His skin tone was White, like he needed to spend more time in the sun.

He had light blue eyes set in a slightly rounded face. He had a thick look to him, especially on his arms and legs and chest. These areas were seemingly filled in with a layer of fat under the skin giving him a look of bland largeness. Seemingly neither strong nor weak at the same time.

Tom was in a fitness club. A large building made of tan metal and a white metal roof. It was at the end of a large parking lot. Inside the double sliding glass doors was a large hallway. At the end of which opened up to a large reception area were members checked in. Behind that, was a snack bar that served healthy food. The vegetable and fruit smoothies with protein powder mixed in were the most popular.

The overall looks of the interior were basic. With no over exuberance of color, with the majority of the interior being the same tan color as the exterior.

In side the large building was numerous rooms. The largest of the rooms was divided into two areas. One area had various cardio machines, the other filled with various types of weight lifting equipment of all types.

The smaller rooms we located towards the back of the building, to the right of the free weight area. They held the individual clubs. Racket ball, squash, basketball and various body weight class's. Some times these rooms were rented out by outside entities. One of those entities was Team Apex. A Mixed martial arts gym.

They catered to numerous styles of martial arts, thanks to the diverse nature of training that the owners had. Offering everything from submission grappling to various styles of kickboxing and separate class that combined them all. Their gym had a motto painted on the walls.

A painting of a Large mountain with words Written beneath it. "Team Apex, at the top of our games, even when were on the bottom."

"Good work today Tom," said Alec. Tom looked up from his bag.

"I keep getting hit when I close in for a body shot" Tom said as he put his mouth guard back in its case.

"Well you bent at the waist instead of bending at the knee. It took your eyes off your opponent and left you vulnerable," Alec said.

"Just remember to bend the knees and not stoop over. Above all keep your hands up in guard," Alec said as he patted Tom on the shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes when they are tired and you sparred 8 rounds today. Don't be hard on yourself, you're doing great. You'll get it in time as your fitness improves." Tom slightly frowned as he listened to his coach's words.

"Its such a pain in the ass to be out of gas before everyone else," Tom said annoyed.

"Hey bro, just remember you have come a long way, look at how heavy you were before you joined here!" Alec continued. "How many people don't even try to better them selves? For your size your in good shape, you just need to keep working on your Cardio."

"Just remember this, it took you years to become obese and over weight. Its going to take a long time undue it. So take your time and do it right," Alec said as he patted Tom on the shoulders. He turned and walked away to talk with the other people gathered in the locker room.

Tom Sighed as he stood up. Turning to the open door of his locker were a long mirror was hung. He was loath to look at it, but it was the arbiter of truth and he couldn't ignore the truth. He hated him self. He hated the image before him. To Tom, he was as big as a hot air balloon. At one point he had weighed 325 pounds. With his now current weight of 240 pounds he was noticeably healthier. However in his eyes he still saw the disgusting blob that was his gut. It was smaller then it had been, markedly so. However he didn't see the changes that his fellows at the gym saw. In his minds eye he was still 325 pounds.

Clinching his fists for a brief moment he took a deep breath and tried to put the dark thoughts aside. Putting his jacket on he looked down and noticed his I.D badge was still on. It read "Cerelon Family Employee Thomas Allen Maxton Security Warehouse 7 Employee I.D A117B".

Taking the I.D off and putting it in his pocket he decided it was time to go home. As he left the locker room, he noticed that some of the team were gathered in a small circle by the edge of the grappling mat. This particular location was close to the lobby entrance and on the path that Tom had to take to leave.

Alec was on the far side of the circle. He was of average height, standing 2 inches taller then Tom. He was lean and while not chiseled like a body builder was noticeably muscular. His brown hair and brown eyes rounding out his features.

The rest of the group varied widely. With some being tall and thin, and others being short and stocky. Many different races of people trained here, however it was predominantly Caucasian with Latinos and Asians. A hand full of people with African decent were also among them. All were in great shape and had years of fighting experience.

"Hey Tom! Were going out for breakfast want to come?" said Catherine a young woman in her mid twenties. Small freckles occasionally dotted her fair, powerful physique, and with her fiery red hair she exuded a air confidence that made people take notice. Both male and female.

Tom stopped and glanced down at her. "I'd like to but I have to get some sleep for work tonight. Besides Cara will be pissed if I went with out her," Tom said. Leaving out the fact that Cara would also be very angry if she found out that a another female was among the group. "She keeps me on a short leash anyways. I'll see ya tomorrow morning for practice," Tom said as he gave a quick wave of his hand to the group.

Catherine gave a slight frown with her hands on her hips. Her hair flowing down around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes. "She's right man, you need to go out with us sometime. It would be a good time and we could get to know you better. You've been here nearly two years and we barely know anything about you," Alec said with grin.

"Oh you have no idea how much fun we have!" Catherine said with a smile, moving beside Tom and Alec. "We all hang out after training and sometimes go to the club for some dancing," she said with a coy smile. Alec looked at Catherine.

"Good times alright, she got us all kicked out of a club a couple a weeks ago. She was out dancing on the floor when some guy grabbed her ass. She proceeded to break his nose for the gesture!" Alex said with barely contained laughter. "It took 3 bouncers to pull her off of him!"

Catherine giggled as she remembered the event. The foolish man was very drunk and did not expect the quick shoulder throw she used to take him down. Nor was he prepared for her to jump on top of him, and proceed to rain punch's down on his face.

"God that is so annoying. I get so tired of guys thinking they can touch my ass just because I'm dancing with them. Like that is really going to turn me on jackass," Catherine said with a exasperated look, that quickly turned to laughter. "Felt pretty good to punch that idiot in the face though!" Catherine concluded.

She turned to Tom and gently touched his arm and noticed he gave a brief nervous shudder. "Hey how about this, Saturday after Defensive Tactics class. Let's meet the guys at the club." She said to Tom, her eyes seemingly repeating the question.

"I'll see what I can do. Later guys," Tom said as he glanced down at his watch. "Ok, well let me know Saturday." Catherine said to Tom with a gentle smile. With a nod of acknowledgement Tom departed.

Walking down the hall towards the door, Tom was deep in thought. He wondered what mood Cara would be in when he got home. He never knew what to expect from her. There are times when she would be loving and caring, her touch like the caress of an angel.

Yet their were times when she was cold and unyielding. Showing neither affection nor desire for him. They no longer slept together in both senses of the word. It had been more months then he could remember. This was one of the hardest parts to deal with for Tom. The lack of both emotional and physical intimacy, at times, was unbearable.

Some times minor things he would do, mistakes he would make ,or things he would forget would set her into a rage. She would say some of the meanest, most hurtful things to him. Some times even rivaling his father in the depth of the spiteful things she said to him.

With all that said, it was the good memories they shared that he clings to. She was a catch, beautiful and intelligent. They were the type of couple were people stop and ask to them selves why a girl like her, is with a guy like him. He didn't even deserve her, how could he ever fathom looking for another.

He quickened his pace across the long parking lot. Knowing that if he hurried he could arrive home before she left for work. He was running late, and did not know how that would effect her. Regardless he was determined to greet her with a smile.

He walked around to the back of his car. Short and sleek with a aerodynamic appearance, the midnight blue car had large alloy rims with composite tires. Bringing his watch up to eye level he touched the screen. Going through the various screens with the flick of his finger. He found the application for vehicle control and with two taps of his finger unlocked the driver side door and popped the trunk.

For a car of this size the trunk was spacious. Taking up more then half the available space was a large rectangular metal safe bolted directly to the vehicles frame. It had a biometric sensor and keypad back up. In it contained his gear for work. He placed his bag down in the space next to the safe. Behind that was a large framed backpack. In it he kept emergency supplies, and was generally thought of as his "bug out bag".

Closing the trunk he turned to open the car door. When he did the car automatically sensed his presence and a warm feminine voice greeted him. "Good morning Tom" As he sat down the seat and steering wheel adjusted to his preference.

He touched the biometric sensor on the steering wheel and the electric motor started to whine as the car powered up.

XXX

Tom lived in the middle of Goran cities manufacturing and warehousing district, as did many of the middle class employee's of Mr. Cerelon. This location was perfect for Tom, as his nice apartment was only a few miles from the warehouse he worked in, which lie on the edge of the city. With the higher paid people living in the posh downtown business district.

The drive back to his apartment was fairly quick, lasting no more then 10 minutes. The apartment he lived in was a short building, only measuring 5 floors, however it was long. Set in the middle of a medium sized parking lot. Its exterior was simple red bricks with the occasional black brick, topped by a thick white tile roof.

Each apartment had 2 parking spots, and they were numbered for each one. He lived on the first floor but towards the back. Pulling up to his apartment, his stomach slightly tightened. Cara was still home. Looking at the clock he knew she would be leaving soon, as she had to work in the business district. Getting out of the car, it automatically turned off, signing off with a friendly goodbye. "See you tonight Mr. Maxton," came the warm voice of the onboard computer.

Walking to the trunk he grabbed his gym bag and swiped his thumb on the biometric sensor on his safe. As the light changed from red to green, the lid opened and the 4 trays beneath it automatically lifted up on metallic arms to reveal the contents of each layer. He grabbed his duty pistol and holster and 2 spare magazines. Placing the holstered pistol on his belt, and the magazines in his pocket, he closed the trunk.

Walking up to the sliding grey metal door Tom extended his thumb to the scanner on the wall to the left to the door. A dull buzzer sounded as the door slid open. The door closed behind him as he walked in and set his bags down. Taking his shoes and setting them on the mat, he picked his bag up and moved to the back of the off white apartment. Walking past the small kitchen and dining area he came to a small hallway. The first room, half way down and on the right side of the hallway was a large bathroom that also contained the clothing recycler.

As he walked into the bathroom he heard the shower running and the room was full of hot steam. Cara was in the shower. "Tom is that you?" Cara called out from the loudly running shower. "Hey honey, Sorry I'm late. Just putting my cloths in the recycler," Tom said.

He began taking his work and gym clothing out of the bag putting them in the machine. Checking to make sure it had the proper amount of cleaning agent and fabric softener. He touched the button on the screen and set the loads. The large grey machine both washed and dried the clothing in the same unit, using a set of rotating shelves within the unit.

Flipping the settings, he found the correct ones that would make sure they were clean and dry by the time he was ready for work and turned it on.

"Your late," Cara said coldly with a hint of annoyance.

"I stayed after for a bit to chat with the guys," Tom said. He heard a annoyed sigh emanate from the shower. "I am sorry, I did try to hurry but, they can talk a lot some times after practice," Tom said.

His work in the bathroom finished, he slung his gear bag over his shoulder. With one hand he slowly opened the shower door and placed his other hand on the inside of the door frame. He had intended to give a soft loving caress to Cara. However that did not go as planned.

As soon as he opened the door, she quickly grabbed the handle from the inside and slammed it shut on his other hand. Causing the door to rip some of his skin on two fingers. Toms blood was dripping all over the inside of the door frame.

Tom quickly opened the door and pulled his hand away, clutching it tightly in his other hand. "AHH DAMN!" Tom shouted as his fingers throbbed with stinging pain.

Cara quickly slammed the door shut. "Your letting all the steam out!" Cara said angrily.

"What the hell was that for?" Tom asked to Cara with the distinct sound of anger mixed with sadness.

"You got what you deserved." Cara said coldly. Tom noticed there was no hint of remorse in her tone. "Be sure to clean up your mess," Cara said with a tone of pure annoyance. With a look of sorrow that mirrored the feelings in his heart, Tom set out to tend his newest wounds.

Wrapping his hand in a paper towel, Tom grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink. Opening the kit, he pulled out 3 items. One was a liquid cleaning agent that cleans and disinfects. The other items were a packet of wound mender gel and a small tube like vial of liquid bandage.

Removing the now blood soaked paper towel to the trash, he picked up the disinfectant. He grimaced in pain as the liquid stung like fire on his open cuts. Letting his hand dry for a few moments, he then tore open the packet of wound mender. The dark gel in the package was designed to stop bleeding and keep wounds from becoming infected. As well as contain special medicine that slightly sped up the local healing of the wound.

Squeezing out the gel on to his cuts brought a welcome relief as it had a slight numbing effect. After a few moments the gel began to withdraw into the cut, only leaving a small bubble on the surface. Throwing the packet away he retrieved the small vial of liquid bandage.

Liquid bandage was nothing like the 21st century prototypes, that were flimsy and did nothing to protect the wound from water or incidental contact.

This modern liquid bandage was made of bioavailable polymers. It was far stronger and unlike the ancient wax based liquid bandages of times past, was far more capable of withstanding minor bumps and bangs. As well as occasional run-ins with water.

He began to coat the liquid on his cuts in thin layers. Letting each one dry before adding another layer. The whole process happened very fast, not lasting more then 2 minutes. When he was finished he had a nice, thick coat of bandage on his numb fingers.

Replacing the first aid kit to its position under the sink, he used a hand towel to clean up the blood on the door. When he was finished he opened the recycler, interrupting its function, and placed towel inside. As he closed the lid the machine resumed its duties with a low pitched whir.

Tom had become quite skilled in first aid, thanks in part to Cara's not so _occasional_ moments of anger.

Walking out of the bath room to the bedroom just beyond, Tom dropped his empty bag onto the decorative metallic post at the foot of the king sized bed. The bed had a brown blanket stuffed with goose down feathers on top of high thread count satin sheets.

On his side of the bed was a 2 drawer lamp stand, with a old fashioned looking oil lamp. Except it was totally modern, and used the local power grid. It provided bright, yet adjustable light via a simulated flame. Most of Tom's apartment was decorated in the style of early Earth. He loved the elegance that it gave.

Opening the small biometric safe anchored to the wall above the lamp, Tom deposited his pistol and magazines. The safe closed and with a audible beep confirmed its secure status.

As Tom walked over to the hand carved Wooden dresser, he took out his sweat pants and laid them on the bed. Undressing he placed his outerwear into the cloths basket. It was then he noticed that Cara had turned the water off, and was finished with her shower. As he stood up to take his place in the shower, Cara came into the bedroom wrapped in a white towel.

As she entered the room, she dropped the towel into a basket. She had jaw length ebony hair, whose ends curved inwards. Its softness was heaven to his fingers. He sighed, a forlorn look on his face, as he looked at her prominent cheeks and small jaw and supple lips, that gave her face a soft rounded look. Lips he longed to kiss. Her russet eyes and amber skin, made the perfect canvas for her lithe frame and hour glass curves. Which used to fit together perfectly with his. A time that seemed a eternity ago.

The display was enough to drive him crazy. However he kept such feelings to him self, as they were usually unrequited. He smiled a small smile as he recalled a time when this was not the case. A time when they could barely keep their hands off of each other. A time he so desperately wished to return to.

Pulling him self from his trance, he walked over to her. He leaned over to place a soft kiss on her lips. At the last second she turned her head and the kiss landed on her cheek. Tom furrowed his brow, and with a twinge of sadness turned and left the room. Placing his sweat pants on his shoulders he headed off to take his shower.

Cara walked from closet to dresser piecing together the suit she would wear today. She decided to wear the gun metal grey suit with egg shell white button up shirt. She was thinking about the work that lay ahead of her. Another day, another gang to negotiate with, or discipline for failing to follow their agreements with Mr. Cerelon. She disliked her work greatly but could not turn down the pay and private health care benefits.

The gangs were unnerving to say the least, and some of them quite frightening to her. However when she discovered her solution, it made the work so much more bearable. Keeping her from feeling the fear or anger that would hurt her job performance. Helping her to focus on the job.

Taking a small bottle from a hidden compartment in her purse she removed one of its small pills. She looked at the small blue pill and with a sigh swallowed it. The effects came on quickly and she could feel her self getting calmer. Serenity replacing her previously angry state of mind.

Their were steep costs that came with this pill. The price to her personal life was far steeper then the financial cost. Her once deeply passionate relationship with Tom, was now a shattered remnant of its former self. She often wondered if the price they exacted was worth it. However she knew that for the foreseeable future, she would have to rely on them.

Grabbing her purse she turned towards the back of the apartment. "Bye," she said curtly and walked out the door. A metallic click sound echoing behind her, as the security system reactivated.

XXXXX

Drying off, Tom could not help the feelings of loneliness and sadness that had crept into his mind. Walking to the bedroom he placed the towel in the cloths basket and put his sweat pants on.

With a quick shake of his head, he tried to clear his thoughts as he walked to the kitchen. In the refrigerator he had made some breakfasts the night before. Taking one of the square containers to the microwave he took the top off with a audible "POP" sound. Inside were some scrambled eggs and bacon. It took less then a minute to bring the meal to a edible temperature.

As he sat down to eat, he reflected on the his painful encounter with Cara. Holding his wounded fingers, he took stock of the things he recently observed. Her behavior, he noticed was escalating. She seemed to be getting angrier more often, resulting in more instances of her physically lashing out at him.

She was not really strong enough to harm him so he never thought much of it. Till now.

Having finished his breakfast, he placed the items in the dish washer and turned it on. Taking a quick drink of water he headed off to bed. As his head hit the pillows, sleep began to over take him. _"Things are going to have to change, and soon"_ , he thought to him self, but he didnt know how. One thing was for certain, he didn't know how much more of Cara's increasingly erratic behavior he could take.

He was glad however that tomorrow was Friday, the last day of the week for him. With one final sigh he closed his eyes and was fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting back in his chair, Donald Cerelon was getting impatient. Getting up, he walked calmly over to the large picture window that dominated the entire room. The cityscape laid before him. High above the busy streets of the business district, he had a good view of the world from the safety of his building. With the coming of morning the tall skyscrapers of Goran city were awash with the golden light of the rising sun.

His city was the one of two on the forest planet of Galaron V. The other city on the other side of the world, being run by the rival Rigini family.

He was average height but of strong build. His earthy brown hair and scarred face gave him a commanding presence.

His office was large and opulent, with chairs made from the softest leather. His desk was hand carved mahogany, dark as the leather on his chair. He was waiting for his meeting with Dr. Alan Reinhardt, whom was running late.

" _This is ridiculous! He had better have a damned good excuse! I have other things to be doing today. Dealing with a Nazi is not high on my priority list,"_ he thought to him self _. "I could however use this as a way to get more business from them. They pay good and in solid gold_." No sooner had 10 minutes passed his intercom beeped.

Walking over to his desk he taps the button. On the screen was his assistant. The bubbly blonde on the other end is all smiles. "Mr. Cerelon, your 10:00 am appointment has arrived. Shall I send him in?" asks the young lady on the screen.

"Yes Alexandra, send him in right away," Donald said. Just then the door hissed open and in walked a tall older man. He was dressed in a expensive hand made black suit with black leather shoes. His short white hair and neatly trimmed beard gave him a distinguished look.

"Dr. Reinhardt I presume?" asks Cerelon as he reaches out over the desk to shake the mans hand.

"Of course, and you must be Mr. Cerelon. I have heard much about you," says Dr. Reinhardt returning the handshake with a firm grip.

"Not all bad I hope?" Says Cerelon with a laugh.

"Your reputation proceeds you, both of them," says the Doctor. "On one hand, the gangs fear you, and on the other the people love you, and think your the best leader they have ever had. Not even Weyland-Yutani could hope for better brain washing," said the Doctor with a malicious grin as both men take their seats.

"Oh its nothing like that. I keep the gangs on a short leash, and give the people lots of latitude. I keep the laws simple here. No violent crimes of any kind, no theft. I allow a great many vices, with the caveat that they are made here and are as safe and un-addicting as possible," said Mr. Cerelon with a confidant smirk.

"That is what I find to be most curious, one would think your drugs would be as highly addicting as possible. Why be so concerned with their safety in the first place?" asks Doctor Reinhardt.

"The answer is simple Doctor. By keeping my drugs safer and less addicting more people will be inclined to try them recreationally with out fear of addiction ruining their lives. Through private deals with major corporate interests, I ensure that food and quality shelter are cheap and plentiful. By keeping the cost of living artificially low, my citizens have even more cash to spend on what would normally be illegal on other worlds. Sure I spend a lot of money running a proper government with law enforcement and other services, but the steady influx of money is worth it," Cerelon said with a look of defiance on his face.

"I'm not judging, Its your city after all. I was simply curious," the doctor said.

"Its quite alright, I am used to having to explain it to the other families that visit for business," Cerelon says with a smile. His demeanor changing to one of seriousness, he says to the man seated across from him. "To the matter at hand, Doctor you do realize what your asking for?" Cerelon asked. "Those Nexus-Nine Synthetics are illegal in just about every known system. Which means they come at a steep price," Cerelon says as he looks at the man intently.

"I understand they are expensive, however that does not change the fact that I need a capable combat synthetic that can deal with the dangerous subjects im studying. My research base is far out side the boundaries of the United Systems Military and the main space traffic lanes. So im in no danger of getting caught with it," The doctor said flatly.

"Fine, I don't care what you want it for, just making sure this deal wasn't going to come back to bite me on the ass. I don't need the USM enacting a trade embargo," Mr. Cerelon says sternly. "How are you prepared to pay for this, its the only one I have. Supply and demand and all that," Cerelon said.

"Payment will not be an issue. I can provide either credits or gold if you so desire. However I do have something else of equal value that may just be of interest. If I recall you have a interest in animal fighting, am I correct?" asked the doctor.

"Interest! Ha I'm highest-ranked amongst the Intergalactic circuit!" replied Cerelon with a wide grin. "I have some of the strongest animals to ever compete!" he said his grin still wide on his face. "Hell, I dont even have to leave! My challangers come to me! They have this grand fantasy of beating my animals in my own back yard."

"Well then this offer should interest you. Tell me have you ever heard of the Archeronian Xenomorph?" Dr. Reinhardt asked with a small smirk on face.

"Ya I have, I only know what the USM reports released though. From what I know they were responsible for several colonies disappearing. From the descriptions the few survivors gave, it would seam hunting them would have been a true challenge," Cerelon said as his head filled with visions of a grand hunt for this most challanging trophy.

"My offer to you is simple. You provide me the Nexus-Nine Synthetic, and ill provide you with a Xenomorph egg. However instead of hunting it I suggest you fight it on the circuit," Dr. Reinhardt said with a malicious grin. "We found a small collection of them on the outer rim, and they are the last of their kind."

didn't need a response to know his offer was accepted, the wide eyed, and gaping grin on Donald Cerelons face was more then telling.

"You sir, have a deal. I can't imagine the havoc that thing will wreak on the circuit! Ill be unstoppable!" Cerelon said loudly, slamming his fist on the desk. "Hot damn!" He exclaimed a wide smirk still on his face. Contemplating the looks on the faces of his rivals as he unveils it. "How soon can you have it ready for pick up?" Cerelon asked excitedly.

"Have your men stop by the space port tonight. Ill have the Cryo-container prepped and ready for transport," Dr. Reinhardt said.

"All right, we'll be their at 8pm and well have the exchange then," Cerelon said a small grin still on his face.

"Ok its agreed. Ill cya tonight," Dr. Reinhardt says as he stands up to leave. Cerelon stands and shakes his hand and with a smile says.

" Pleasure doing business with you," Cerelon said grasping his hand firmly.

" Pleasure was all mine," Dr. Reinhardt said with a knowing grin as he walks out the door and proceeds to his ship.

After the Doctor leaves, Cerelon activates the Video Communications link on his computer. Tapping on the entry reading "Mark Jessup, Chief of Staff", the video connected with a chime. "Mr. Cerelon, what can I do for you?" asked the dark skinned man on the screen. He had a large scar running down the left side of his face, over his eye. In its place was a synthetic eye.

"Mark, I need you to gather some men and a truck and meet me in my parking garage. Were going to the space port at 8pm to collect my latest acquisition. Bring the Nexus-Nine Synthetic," Cerelon said in a serious tone.

"Yes sir, if I may, why are we bringing the Nexus-Nine?" asked Mark with a look of curiosity.

"I traded it to a scientist," Cerelon said.

"Good lord, I cant imagine what he needs a Nexus-Nine For. Ok well be in the parking garage by 7:30," Mark said.

"Good, Cerelon out," he said as he closed the link.

xxxx

He only has a few minutes, before they arrive to claim their egg. Popping a hatch off the back of the cryo-chamber, Dr. Reinhardt attaches a small computer to the circuit board of the main control panel. The device is set to over ride the cyro tubes built in time controls. Setting the timer, he activates it. Closing the panel he snickers to himself.

" _This should prove interesting,"_ thought to him self. " _If this egg proves viable, life on this planet will get very interesting when my little surprise goes off. It would be a great opportunity to study how a lone xenomorph would react to such a setting. Maybe if were lucky it will be a queen, and then well have unlimited specimens available for bioweapon development."_ Dr. Reinhardt grins at the thought of a whole city hived and a limitless supply of bioweapons to deliver to the 5th Reich.

Shaking the daydream from his head, he recalls the poor condition that many of the eggs were in, when they extracted them from derelicts on the outer rim. He had found 2 planets with the eggs. HS-90 contained 7 possible specimens, while the derelict ruins on BR-122 had only one potentially viable egg.

The likely hood that this was a viable egg, and a queen were astronomically slim. Even if this egg proves viable it will likely only be a drone and not a queen. It was a worth while trade, one potentially useless egg for a valuable combat synthetic.

As he stands up the buzzer on the door to his ship sounds. Walking over to the hatch he presses the button to open the door.

Before him was large truck. From out of the back came five men. One was Mr. Cerelon, followed by a large, dark skinned man, and 3 more all of average height wearing police issue armor from head to toe. They were pushing up a large dolly cart.

Behind them came a 6th figure. It was a woman of average height and brown hair. She was wearing a grey shirt with olive drab military style pants. She had a serene smile that seamed out of place amongst the hardened men around her.

Dr. Reinhardt smiled as he saw her, making note that she was smaller then he was by a few inches. "Don't let her size fool you, she is as tough as they come. Faster then any man alive and three times as strong," came the voice of Donald Cerelon.

"I've no doubt. I have read the technical statistics for their model and it is quite impressive," Dr. Reinhardt said.

"He is your master now," Cerelon says pointing to Dr. Reinhardt.

The woman walked forward, stopping just half a foot from Dr. Reinhardt. "Do you have a name?" asked the Doctor. The woman then smiled.

"Hello my name is Catherine. How can I be of service Dr. Reinhardt?" she said.

At this time, Cerelon's men had finished loading the cryo-container onboard the truck. With wave of his hand he motioned for his men that it was time to leave. "Lets get going guys, I want to get this thing to warehouse 7 as soon as possible," Cerelon ordered. "Pleasure doing business with you Dr. Reinhardt," Cerelon said as he walked towards the waiting truck.

"Pleasure is all mine. Just remember, that this thing will need a sizeable enclosure for it to thrive. A simple cage will not be enough for it," Said Dr. Reinhardt.

"Thanks Ill keep that in mind," replied Mr. Cerelon, and with a wave of his hand his truck sped off. On its way to warehouse 7. Were he kept his most prized possessions, his fighting animals.

"Lets get moving, my dear. Soon as we can get these eggs to the research station, the sooner we can find someone to be our first test subject," The Doctor said with a evil grin, closing the hatch to his ship. Minutes later ther ship was gone, ascending towards the heavens and their rendezvous with destiny.

xxxxxxxx

Standing in the security office, Tom was intently watching the surveillance cameras. Flipping the screens from cage to cage, checking on the status of the sleeping animals with in. As each cage appeared on the screen, a read out gave a detailed report of the status of the cage, and its occupants. His focus was on the locking mechanism of the cages, making sure nothing was amiss.

Currently he was monitoring the Bactan starwolf enclosures. Large wolves approximately 300lbs at maturity. Their black and grey stripped scales, and large tusks that protrude from their mouths, made for a unnerving sight.

Their were several groups of starwolves housed in seperate steel reinforced concrete dens. Which resembled the large cave like dens the animals favored on their native world.

Tom was not required to check on the animals, but he knew that they were precious to Mr. Cerelon, so he took it apon him self to make sure they were alright. Right now he was sure glad that the starwolves were sleeping.

Looking at his watch, he noted that he had less then an hour left of his shift. He was going to patrol the corridors of the large warehouse one more time before the end of his shift. Checking the loaded status of his pistol one final time, he stood up and walked over to the large metal locker on the far wall. Upon opening the door, were dozens of rifles of various makes.

Reaching inside he pulled out a compact automatic rifle of military grade and an ammunition pouch. Sticking the pouch to the magnetic points on his belt. Activating the holographic weapon sights, he shut the door to the locker and walked back to his desk. His rifle slung on his back.

He found the emergency lockdown remote control, and attached the small rectangular device to his belt. Its dull grey metal hanging lightly between the ammunition pouches. With his rifle in hand, Tom proceeded out the office and down the corridors.

The building was dimly lit, with most of the buildings lighting turned off during the night. The effect was quite unsettling for Tom when he first started the night shift those years ago. The scant lighting casting erie shadows amongst the various large containers and cages that filled the polished concrete floors of the building.

As 20 minutes ticked by, Tom had made his way to the back of the building. Looking toward the back wall sat the newest arrival. Tucked in a corner isolated from the rest of the warehouse, was a crate standing half as tall as himself and just as wide. Looking at the read out on the small display, Tom easily confirmed that the container was active and secure. Mr. Cerelon had insisted that Tom Inspect this crate on every patrol, making sure it is still sealed and in proper cryostasis.

Satisfied with the container he continued his slow and methodical march towards the front of the building continuing his inspection as he went along.

Such was his pattern, He would walk the perimeter of the walls first, casually inspecting the cages and the assorted support containers as he walked along the tan colored walls, then do the same up the long central isle.

As he approached the front of the building he could see the main doors to the outside. Walking up to the doors he placed his thumb on the sensor pad opening the doors with a buzz.

The 4 story tan metal warehouse was surrounded by a large metallic wall, apon which was thick razor wire at the top. To the front of the building was a small parking lot and beyond that the metal gate. The building it self was surrounded with grass and a occasional oak tree.

Just outside the perimiter were two large fenced in fields that had been cleared from the surrounding forest. They were connected by a series of protected gates between the two fields, with large steel tunnels connecting to the warehouse directly.

Both fields were similar in topography. Featuring a open grassland and large bushy wooded area. The first area was home to the prey animals, mostly a variety of deer. From the large moose and elk species, to the likes of mule and white tail, and the diminutive leaf deer.

The second enclosure was were the predators were fed and exercised. The prey deers would be tranquilized and moved to the exercise yard. When they fully awoke they would set the predators apon them. Serving to both feed and exercise the animals. Watching the spectical was a favored past time of day shift guards and handlers.

He came out side to do a brief perimeter check, and get a breath of fresh air. As he walked around the outside of the building he began thinking of the day ahead. Stoping at the control panel for the outdoor enclosures, Tom activated the survaliance camera's. Satisfied nothing was amiss in the enclosures he headed back inside the warehouse.

" _Man i can wait for DT class later today! Always fun to train with weapons,"_ Tom thought to him self, a small smile appearing on his face. He returned to the office to conclude his work week.

XXX

After returning home Tom had a quick breakfast, some Oatmeal with blueberries and honey, and took a 4 hour nap. The sound of a old alarm clock ringing loudly woke Tom from a very restful nap. Sitting up from his bed, he noticed Cara was nowhere to be found. "Could have left a note or something," Tom said to himself, his face awash with annoyance.

With a exasperated sigh he stood up and dressed him self in his work out cloths. The tight fitting grey compression shirt was made of a special moisture wicking synthetic blend. Taking his boxer shorts off he put on a black pair of compression shorts designed for martial arts before slipping on his grey sweat pants, pulling the string tight.

In his work out bag he threw in another compression shirt, his deodorant and the shower kit he keeps for traveling. He was about to close his bag when he remembered Catherine's request that he join them tonight at the club. Having to leave soon he had to decide quickly.

Dropping his head with a large sigh, Tom thought to him self. _"She is going to be pissed when I don't come right home. I wonder what she will throw at me."_

Tom grimaced as he recalled a argument he had with her a few weeks ago. He knew it would be simply easier to come straight home, and avoid his friends. Safest way to avoid a fight with Cara. He did not want to fight with her at all. She was very possessive and wanted to him to follow a strict routine.

However it had occurred to him that he is bored and lonely. Sure martial arts is fun but he needed something more. Overall this seamed like a great solution to his bored loneliness.

"She is so possessive when it comes to knowing were I am and who I'm with, yet she shows no damn affection for me when I am home. To hell with it, I am going. Might as well have some fun before the inevitable fight." Tom said to him self, a smile briefly finding its way to his face.

Walking over to the closet he took out a pair of black cotton shorts with a black belt. He could not help but chuckle a bit when he looked down at the label on the pants. "God I remember when I wore size 48s. Now I'm wearing 38s," Tom said with a smile. His expression turning serious Tom said to him self. "Cant get comfortable, I still have a long way to go."

After placing a folded white cotton undershirt in the bag next to his folded pants and belt, he looked into the closet for a shirt. "Were going to a club. Hmm I have never been to a club, bet it will be hot inside. Better make sure I take something cool," Tom said to him self. Looking inside he had a plethora of shirts to choose from.

Rifling through the closet he came to a peach nectar colored shirt. The shirt was a light and comfortable button up with short sleeves. Taking it from the closet he placed it in the bag and closed it. Securing the bags strap to his shoulder he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a large bottle of water and headed off out the door to his car. The door lock clicking behind him as he departed.

XXX

Defensive tactics class came and went like it always did. It was held in a special facility close to border of the large forest that covered most of the planet. Lasting a full work shift of 8 hours, it covered a wide variety topics.

The first half of class was spent on working on firearms tactics. Covering basic and advanced marksmanship, single and small group tactics, and various other aspects of marksmanship using a wide variety of firearms. Tom was quite adept at marksmanship, and as such also took part in the precision rifle class. One of the few students that did.

The last 4 hours of class was divided up into 3 sections. The first part of class was proper melee weapon usage. Everything from knives to staves and anything in-between that could be used as a weapon.

The next part was unarmed defense against weapons, including knives and most of the things covered in the previous class. These two class's were Toms favorites. Sure many of the weapons were anachronistic to the current age. However it conjured up feelings of comradery with warriors of ancient Earth. It was the few hours of the week were Tom felt he was not worthless.

The last part of class was unarmed self defense against unarmed aggressors. This class bored Tom to tears, as it did not approach the level of martial training he got with Team Apex. It was here in this class that he met Catherine for the first time. It was she who suggested he join her at Team Apex after a discussion regarding his interest in martial arts and fitness.

She is the current head instructor of the unarmed defense class and a leading member of Mr. Cerelons peace enforcers. At the time of Toms promotion to warehouse 7, the class mainly consisted of Mr. Cerelons peace enforcers. Their job was simple, enforce the few laws Mr. Cerelon sets for the general populace. Keep the peace. They were the cops of Goran City, with far reaching powers. They alone could decide the fates of the criminals they dealt with. Thankfully many were clean cut and morally up right.

After class, Tom headed to the locker room and showered and changed into the clothing he brought with him. Placing his concealment holster in its place on his belt, he took his pistol from the locked cabinet inside his locker, and quickly concealed it under his outer shirt. Despite being just a security officer, apon being promoted to warehouse 7, Mr. Cerelon gave him special dispensation that gave him carry permissions like that of the peace enforcers.

The rest of the class was milling about lazily in the large lobby of the training facility. Which was basically a very large remodeled warehouse. Most were in their civilian outfits, and getting ready to leave and enjoy the day. The rest was in various enforcer uniforms. From the dark blues of the peace enforcers to the mahogany of the code enforcers. Whose jobs was to enforce various city codes. From building and manufacturing safety to food and recreational drug safety.

As he walked towards the door, his steps echoing off the polished concrete floor, he saw a familiar face and the fiery red hair that came with it. She was talking with Alec and Miguel. A short young man with a physique reminiscent of a sprinter, brown eyes and skin the color of almonds.

Waking up to the group, Alec looks at Tom and nods his head in greeting him. "Hey Tom."

"What's up? How you guys doing?" Tom said with a smile. Catherine smiles at Tom and brushes a wayward strand of red hair from her eyes to its place behind her ear.

"Hola Tom we were just talking about which club were going to," Miguel said to Tom.

"So where we going? I hope they have good food, I'm getting hungry," Tom said with a chuckle. Catherine's eyes seamed to light up at this, her smile growing on her freckled face.

"Your really going to come with us tonight Tom?" Catherine said with a shy smile, her voice low.

"Yep, got tired of being bored. I just hope this goes well," Tom said, his face reddening slightly.

"What do you mean Tom?" Alec said looking at Tom.

" Well its just... I have... Never actually been to a club before. I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't really go out to clubs and bars and such," Tom said, as he looked away from the group to try and hide his even redder face.

Placing her hand on Toms shoulder, she looked at him and smiled. "You'll be fine, I promise. You will have a great time, trust me," Catherine said softly.

"Ya bro, she's right. Besides, when Team Apex hits the club you never know what's going to happen! Its going to be awesome!" Alec said excitedly, slapping Tom on the shoulder, a wide grin adorning his face.

Tom took a breath and sighed the edge of his lips curling up into a half smile. He was feeling better about his decision to join his gym mates. "Ill hold you to that," Tom said laughing, trying to deflect his bashfulness. "When are we heading out?" Tom questioned to Alec.

"No time like the present. Lets go to Louvel's. Well meet their in 20 minutes," Alec said to the group. They acknowledged him and set out for the business district.

XXXX

As Catherine drove down the busy streets, she could see the business district come into view. Set in the North side of the city, its tall silver colored sky scrappers covered in glass stood tall above the horizon. Some buildings going up 200 stories or more. The tallest of which was Cerelon Tower, home to Mr. Cerelon.

" _Tonight's going to be great. I cant believe Tom is actually coming with us!"_ she thought to her self with a soft grin.

Despite Toms distant personality with his team mates, he slowly started warming up to them recently. It helped that Catherine was spending a lot of training time working various drills with him. From sparring drills to trapping and flow drills even doing light sparring with him.

As she taught him the same skills she had learned, they built a rapport. It was small at first, but slowly over time it built up into a friendship.

He even started opening up to her and talking to her beyond mere greetings and acknowledgements. Mostly he would talk about mundane things, regarding work or the goings on with the city or to ask about her work and life.

With a heavy sigh, she pushed the concerning thoughts about Toms distant and sometimes skittish behavior out of her mind. She would figure all that out later, right now was about having a great time with her friends.

" _I wont give him the opportunity to be nervous , or to back out,"_ She mused to her self with a wide mischievous smile.

XXXX

As Tom approached Louvel's he casually glanced up at the towering sky scrappers all around him. He almost never came to the business district, and always enjoyed staring at them. Following the GPS in his navigational computer, Tom pulled up to one of the many towers. Louvel's was situated on the basement level, with its own entrance outside.

A pair of bright spot lights shown up to the sky, as brightly colored, holographic wolves danced side to side in the air above the entrance to the club.

Alec and Miguel were standing beside their cars talking to Tasia. Pulling in the empty parking spot beside them, Tom noticed the large throng of people entering the club.

Exiting his car, Tom was greeted by Alec and Miguel as he walked back to his vehicles trunk placing his pistol and magazines in the biometric safe. Alec was wearing a grey form fitting shirt and black shorts and Miguel was wearing a white tank top with khaki shorts. Their outfits serving to highlight their physiques.

"Hey Tom you made it," Alec said to Tom patting his shoulder with a smile.

Miguel greeted Tom with a simple nod of his head. "Tom. " Said Miguel warmly.

"Miguel." Tom said returning the nod.

"Yo Tom!" Came a sultry voice behind him. Standing their was the statuesque Taisia. "Glad you came out man," She said adusting the strap of her black purse hanging from her shoulder. Looking at her, Tom noticed she was wearing a bright yellow dress which cut off above her knees, making for a striking contrast with her charcoal skin.

" Jeez Taisia, your going to stand out like a signal flare!" Tom said as he chuckled at her.

"Oh you know it baby! Aint no one gonna miss me!" She said exuberantly a sly smile on her face. "Hey were is Catherine?" Tasia asked looking at Alec.

"She is running a bit late, lets all go pay for our passes and head in side," Alec said to the group. They sounded their approval and headed for the ticket master next to the large double doors.

After paying for his pass, the ticket master held out her hand. " Hand please, just got to put the U.V stamp on. Then you can enter and leave as often as you like," the short woman inside said.

Holding out his hand she pulled out a large stamper from the drawer and pressed it firmly to his hand. "Their you go, enjoy your self. Next!" She called from the booth.

"Thank you." Tom told her as he began walking up to the door, only to be stopped by Alec.

"What's up Alec?" Tom asked curiously as he looked at Alec.

"Hey would you mind waiting by the cars for Catherine?" Alec asked Tom.

"Sure I don't mind." Tom said with smile.

"Thanks man, just don't want her to miss us. This way she wont wait out side and we can save your seats at the tables," Alec said with a smile.

" Ya no problem bro, ill wait for her," Tom said as he began walking back to his car.

XXXX

Tom didn't have very long to wait, as it was less then 10 minutes before he spotted the familiar midnight blue car that was Catherine's patrol car. Walking from in front of his car over to hers, Tom took notice of its features. It was striking in its form, long and slender with sharp angular lines. Inside the windshield was a pair of red and blue lights, signifying her status as a peace enforcer.

With a slowly dying hum, much like a generator would make, the car powered down in the adjoining parking slot. Undoing her seat belt, Catherine gathered up her purse she placed her pistol and magazines in the quick retrieval lock box bolted to the side of the drivers seat, its magnetic lock clicking.

Looking out her window she saw Tom approaching her door. Gathering her purse in her arms, she reached for the door to open it, but Tom had gotten their first and opened the door for her. Tom held out his hand to assist her from her car. Taking his hand, he gently pulled her up from the car. "Thanks Tom, such a gentleman," She said to him with a gentle smile.

"Your welcome Catherine," Tom said, blushing slightly at the sight of her. She was wearing a short black skirt and a skin tight red halter top, her supple curves and defined abdominals visible beneath it. His blush deepened as Catherine looked at him with a knowing smile and winked at him. "Come on, lets get inside," She said with a soft giggle.


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting at the table with the rest of the group, Tom started to get hungry.

The atmosphere was loud and electric as the mass of humanity inside was busy dancing and cavorting, all fueled by cheap alcohol. The music was fast and energetic, practically begging you to move to the dance floor and cut loose.

In the back of his mind, a strong feeling stirred, as he sat staring at the menu. Looking over the items his gaze settled on the appetizer section.

The appetizer selection was wide with numerous different styles of foods to try. Tom loved battered foods, hell anything that was carb heavy. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the selection of breaded calamari and breaded vegetables. What caught his eye, was the Chili cheese fries. He knew he should not eat this, or anything on this menu for that matter.

However he could practically taste the food in his mind. Every bean, the tangy sauce, the earthy fries, andcreamy cheese. All of it he could taste in his mind, and the food was not even in front of him. He waged a war inside his mind, should he eat this or do the right thing and wait till later? To try to eat a more healthy option. Back and forth the fight raged on.

As the minutes ticked by, the voice telling him to wait was growing quieter, despite that it was shouting at him. He found him self justifying eating the unhealthy food. _"Its just this once, it wont hurt. I can fit it in my diet if I cut my numbers tomorrow it will all be good,"_ He thought to him self. However the other side was fighting back. Telling him that this choice would start off a chain reaction leading to a multi week binge eating session. One that would threaten all his weight loss progress. This time the voice spoke loudly and was easily heard by Tom.

He had to make a choice soon, as the waitress was nearing their table. "Hmm what should I eat?" he thought out loud. It was then he felt a hand on shirt sleeve gently pulling his head down. Looking over it was Catherine, she was leaning towards him. He could feel her breath on the side of his face as she spoke softly into his ear.

"Hey don't eat here," She whispered to him.

"Why?" Tom whispered back.

"The food is disgusting and greasy. If you eat and then dance you will get sick very quickly. Just drink some light beer, stay away from the food," She whispered to him.

"But I'm getting hungry," He said softly to her.

"Trust me Tom, I don't want you to get sick. Just have a light beer or two and we can get something healthier afterword," Catherine said, now looking at him hoping he would accept her offer.

Suddenly the two competing voices in his head quieted down, the taste no longer haunting his mind. The option Catherine posited to him was far more appealing. Though another feeling was setting in. One that felt both exciting and wrong at the same time.

"Ok I'll eat later with you," Tom said nervously, as thoughts of the impending anger and vitriol he would get from Cara. As he sounded his confirmation, Catherine tilted her head. She was puzzled at the tone of his voice, and the expression on his face.

"What's wrong Tom?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Oh nothing.. Just thinking," Tom said with a sigh.

"Come on what's up?" she asked of him. Looking around at the dancing people, Tom took a deep breath and upon letting it out said to her in a whisper.

"You have no idea how much trouble I'm going to be in," Tom said, his expression somber.

"What kind of trouble Tom? What's going on?" she asked as the puzzle pieces of his behavior over the last 2 years started to fall together, what ever is bothering him is taking place at home. However more information would be needed before she could confront him.

"Oh its nothing," Tom said. "Ill be fine," Tom said faking a smile as he finished his beer.

"Ok," She said with a frown. She knew he was lying, but decided that now was not the time to press the issue.

"You two ok?" Asked Alec to Tom and Catherine. "You two have been zoned out of our conversation for a while now."

"Ya what's going on guys? Taisia called to the pair.

"Oh! Sorry guys, I was just trying to help Tom decide weather or not to eat here," Catherine said to the group, with Tom nodding his head in agreement.

"Good, the food here will come back to haunt you in more ways then one, glad you talked him out of it," Miquel said his Spanish accent filling the air. "Listen ese, you want some good eats, bring your ass to my place. Mi Familia cook you some real food like you never tasted before," Miguel said Lightly punching Tom on the shoulder with a smile.

"Seriously Tom, I'd take him up on that, his mother is a fantastic cook. She cooks straight out of a old cook book. I had never had authentic Mexican before, don't think I could eat restaurant Mexican again," Alec said smiling, his hand rubbing his stomach as he reminisced in the pleasant memory.

"Thanks amigo, mi Madre only cooks using real fresh ingredients. Says if your going to eat, make sure its good tasting and good for you. Be careful though, them beans can have a mind of their own!" Miguel said holding his chest in a fit of laughter, the rest of the group joining him.

"Man it sounds like you guys eat real good. Good Lord what have I been missing out on?" Tom said a sheepish smile on his face as he looked at Miguel. Just then Tom felt a soft hand on his chin, turning his head to the right. He found him self looking into teal eyes of Catherine.

"You've missed out on a lot Tom," She said to him softly. The look in her eyes saying far more then words ever could.

Clearing his throat Tom blushed at the sudden intimacy of the situation. Her soft fingers still wrapped around his chin. He started looking around, trying to look for some way out. He was seriously uncomfortable with this. Not because he didnt like her touch, no it was because he did like it and it made him feel guilty.

Noticing his nervous glances around the room, Catherine stood up taking her hand off of his chin and clasping his hand instead, pulling him to his feet. "Sorry Tom, no turning back now. Not till I get a dance!" She said laughing maniacally.

"But but I don't know how to dance!" Tom yelled as she pulled him on to the dance floor.

"Guess your going to learn!" She said looking back at him.

XXXX

"Anyone else confused by whatever the hell that was?" Alec said tilting his head at Miguel and Taisia.

Shrugging his shoulder Miguel looked back to the dance floor, were Catherine is coaxing Tom into dancing with the fast paced music. "Not a clue amigo, never seen her act like that before," Miguel said to Taisia and Alec.

"I mean they spent more time talking to each other then then to us. Normally she is a lot chattier," Alec said looking at the pair sitting next to him.

"I think she likes him. Only thing I can come up with," Taisia said as she stood up. "However she has the right idea. Its time to DANCE!" she said to the boys as she disappeared onto the dance floor.

Looking at Miguel, Alec shook his head a smile on his face. "What ever it is, at least he is finally being apart of the team, " He said to Miguel as they downed a shot of whiskey from the roving shot girl.

"Aye I agree, if anyone can get him out of that shell, she can, " Miguel said. "Come one lets get out there and find us some girls," Miguel said to Alec as the pair stood up.

"Lead the way Poncho Villa!" Alec said eliciting a hearty laugh from both of them.

XXXX

"This is great!" Tom shouted a wide grin on his face as they danced to the fast music. He could feel the beat straight to his very core. Surrounded by numerous others doing the exact same thing, just dancing in their own way.

"See your getting it! Just move with the beat. Do what comes naturally!" Catherine shouted back as the pair danced vigorously around the dance floor, swaying her hips and twirling around sensuously in front of Tom. Who found it increasingly harder not to stare in admiration of the dancing beauty in front of him.

They had been on the dance floor for nearly an hour and half. Up to that point Catherine had never left Toms side. She was determined to have a good time with him and so far her plan was succeeding.

Finally their was a pause in the music. Catherine turned to Tom and said." Lets get something to drink," Nodding in agreement they walked off towards the bar. As he walked up to the bar, Tom looked in awe at the shear selection of available drinks. While its food was lackluster, the drinks were not. Having everything from cheap whiskey and beer, to fine wines and single malt scotch.

"What'll it be," Said the portly middle aged bartender as the pair walked up to bar. Before Tom could say anything, Catherine spoke up.

"Give me two tequila sunrises, top shelf," Catherine said to the bartender, raising her computer watch to terminal to pay for the drinks.

"Sure thing Ma'am," The bartender said as he turned around grabbing the good tequilas from the upper shelf of the bar and began to mix the drinks. It took less then a 2 minutes for him to finish the drinks, and hand them to Catherine and Tom. "Thanks" Catherine said to the man.

"No problem," he replied.

"Thank you for the drink. I was going to pay for it," Tom said, taking a sip of the drink, warming his throat as it went down.

"Don't worry about it," Catherine said to him as she took a sip of her own drink. "Come one, lets get back on the floor," She said as she finished her drink.

"Alright," Tom said, finishing his drink in one long drink letting out a satisfied sigh.

As they danced mere inches from each other to the fast beats of the DJ, Tom had a blast. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. The fact he was enjoying him self with a woman like Catherine was the icing on the cake. She was a gyrating ball of energy and it was infectious. Her outer beauty only matched by her amazing personality, both sweet and gentle, and aggressive and determined at the same time.

As they danced, a stocky young man in a white polo shirt walked up to Catherine, ignoring Tom's presence all together. "Hey want to dance?" He asked to her, continuing to ignoring the visibly confused and annoyed Tom.

"Sorry, already got a patner," She said turning back to Tom.

"I don't see a dance partner I see a dressed up pile of crap trying to pretend to be a man," He said glaring at Tom. Turning around Catherine narrowed her eyes looking at the man. Her face flush with anger, her fists clenching at her side.

" Hey I don't want any trouble," Tom said putting his hands in the air, and backing away trying to look non confrontational.

"Don't you go anywhere Tom! You're with me, not this asshole," She said mere inches from the man in question.

"What did you say to me, you disrespectful BITCH!" he said shouting at her, getting right in her face.

"Yo! Cat you ok?" came a voice behind Tom.

Looking behind him, he saw the owner of the voice, Miguel who was walking up behind Tom. Alec was beside him. Patting Tom on the shoulder, both men stood on either side of him. They rolled their shoulders and stretched their necks as they prepared for a fight.

"Hey! I'm not missing this ass beating!" called Taisia loudly as she walked up behind Tom. Looking behind him he gave a quick half smile to Taisia. "Hey Tom, I got your back," She said to him a serious expression on her face, glaring at the polo shirt wearing gorilla.

The man glancing back at Tom noticed the 3 additional people joining him, decided this is one fight he cant win. "Man the hell with this! Their are plenty of other bitchs to dance with," he said turning around and walking to the other side of the bar.

Taking a deep breath, she unclenched her fists trying to calm her anger. Turning back towards Tom she looked at her gathered friends. "Thanks guys, I appreciate the back up," she said gratefully to her friends.

"Hey no problem Cat, we know you could have taken him, but we just wanted to make sure he didn't have friends. Besides you mess with one, you mess with us all," Alec said with a confidant smirk on his face, glancing at Tom who looked a bit shaken.

"To bad you didn't dump him on his ass Cat, that would have been fricking OFF THE HOOK!" Taisia said excitedly.

"Your telling me, I was seconds away from doing just that, when you guys came up," Catherine said to the group a grin on her face.

"Well hey on the bright side we didn't get kicked out of this club at least!" Alec said eliciting laughter from the group.

Looking at Tom she put her hand on his arm. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about that," she said with a worried look in her eyes, as she brushed more wayward hair behind her ears.

"Its nothing, I'm ok. Thanks though," he said, nodding his head to her. Taking her hand from his arm, she smiled at him.

"Ok good. Hey how about we get out of here and get some food?" she asked to Tom.

"Sure its really late were do you want to go?" Tom asked as he began flipping through the restaurant listings on his computer watch.

"I know a place by the star port, its open 24 hours and has great food," She said with a soft smile.

"You guys going somewhere?" Alec said to Catherine.

"Yeah, me and Tom are going to get some food and relax. You guys cool with us leaving?" she asked to the group.

"Yeah, no problem Cat, you guys go, well catch you Monday morning for practice," Alec said, Taisia and Miguel sounding their agreement.

"Awesome, Ill catch you guys later then. Come on Tom," she said, as she motioned with her head to the door.

"Hey Tom, thanks for coming out with us, we had a good time tonight. Watching you try to dance has been a real treat!" Alec said.

"Yeah, ese we expect you to start being more active with us now. Were not just a team, were family," Miguel said punching Tom on the shoulder lightly.

"You better believe it. I had a great time," Tom said with a small smile as he turned and looked at Miguel.

"Come on Tom I want to get moving before this place empties out and traffic is a nightmare," Catherine said to him.

"Ya you better get moving Tom, don't want to keep a lady waiting. It was nice hanging out with you," Taisia said as she grabbed his shoulders.

"You to Taisia, I look forward to next time," Tom said as he started walking to the door.

" Bye guys," Catherine said, looking back at her friends.

"Cya Cat, cya Tom," Tasia said with a quick wave of her hand.

As the pair made their way to their cars, Tom turned to Catherine. "So Catherine, were did you want to go eat?" he said as he pulled up his watch and unlocked his car, standing by its hood, arms folded.

"Well I know a place in central, near the star port. Its open all night for the travelers. Its called Jenny's," she said as she unlocked her patrol car and turning it on. A deep electric hum coming from the vehicle.

"Never heard of it, is it any good?" Tom asked as he reached in and activated his own vehicle.

"Ya you'll like it, they have great food. Their more known for their fantastic breakfast's though," she said a soft smile still on her face.

"Alright, I'll meet you there," Tom said nodding his head in agreement.

"Ok see you in a little bit then," Catherine said as she climbed into her vehicle. With out much delay they both pulled out of Louvels parking lot.

XXXX

Jenny's was located in the central district of Goran City not more then half a mile from the star port. The star port is center most building of central district with all other districts emanating outwards from it in a circle. The star port was the largest building in the district, dwarfing most architecture in the city save a few enormous buildings of the business district. A large circular building several miles in diameter, made of grey steel and concrete, it had numerous openings along its surface.

Numerous vessels streamed in and out of the spaceport like bee's buzzing from a hive on a warm spring day, ready to collect nectar from waiting plants.

Around the spaceport numerous small business abound to service the every need and desire of the weary space travelers. Everything from fine dining and hole in the wall shops to brothels and designer drug dens.

XXXXX

Sitting towards the back of the restaurant, Tom looked around from their booth and smiled with amusement at the décor of the building. "This place looks amazing!" he said happily feeling like he had stepped into a time portal to a far distant time.

"I knew you'd like it! Didn't I tell you it was great!" Catherine said excitedly.

It was decorated in the fashion of main street diners from 1950's Earth. Tom was impressed at the attention to detail the owner of the dinner had put into it. Just past the glass doors, with a old fashioned entrance chime, was the bar. Painted black, with red stools lining it with the extensive kitchen located just beyond.

Sat upon a black and white tiled floor, red leather booths with black table tops lined the walls and central floor area. In the very middle of the dinner was a modern replica of a old fashioned Jukebox, filled with both classical music of the mid to late 20th century and modern pop music.

XXXXX

"What'll you have miss?" asked the waitress as she looked at Catherine, a order pad in her hand.

"I'll take 2 eggs, scrambled with white toast, and a side of bacon," Catherine said to the waitress.

"Anything to drink with that?" asked the waitress.

"Just some water thanks," Catherine said, folding her menu.

"And what can I get you sir," The lady said turning to look at Tom.

"Ill take a western omelet with wheat toast and honey, real butter please," Tom said as he folded his menu setting down on top of the table with Catherine's.

"What would you like to drink?" the waitress asked, as she jotted down both their orders.

"How about some orange juice?" Tom asked to the waitress.

"No problem hun. Be right out with your drinks," She said as she turned around to place their order.

It didn't take very much time after receiving their drinks for their order to be completed, as it was very early morning and the dinner was not very busy.

Taking a bite of his omelet, Tom savored the flavors. "Yep, this was a far better decision then eating at the club," Tom said taking another bite. "I cant even make them this good," He said as he reached for his toast, spreading some butter and honey on top. "God I love real honey! Don't see that every day here on Golaran," he said as he ate his toast.

"Yep, this place is great. I come here sometimes on my break during my patrol. Nice and quiet," she said as she took a sip of her water. "Besides I saw how you were looking at the menu at the club. Now you wont have to feel bad about making a bad food choice tonight."

"Yeah, that was bad. If you hadn't stopped me I would have completely screwed my self for the foreseeable future. Food like that can set me off into binges that last for days," Tom said feeling angry and disgusted at himself for nearly uprooting his careful eating habits.

"Your a binge eater? Didn't know that. Looks like you've managed it well. Look at how much weight you have lost Tom," she said taking her last bite of bacon.

"Barely managed is more like it. Its manageable thanks in large part to my showing up 5 days a week to train with you," Tom said taking a sip of his juice. "That and DT class fill up my time so I have no room to binge. Just enough time at home to shower and go to bed."

"Do you know what triggers you?" Catherine asked.

"Well many things. As you recall from the club, it can be a memory a certain type of food that will set off the cravings," Tom said matter of factly to her.

"A memory? You were just looking at the menu?" She asked him with a confused look. Just then the realization hit her. "Oh so the items on the menu brought up a memory of food you used to eat," she noted.

"Yep, that memory is very powerful. I can literally taste it with out even putting it in my mouth, heck even before I order it," Tom said taking another sip of his juice. "If you hadn't said something or distracted me like you did, Its likely a week of eating hell would have followed. So thank you," he said looking at Catherine with a half smile, his eyes showing his gratitude.

"Don't worry about it, just glad you agreed to come out to breakfast with me," She said with a soft smile. "So is that the only trigger you have?" Asked Catherine. Inwardly she knew that this question would pry into what ever is going on at home. She hoped he trusted her enough to give her a glimpse. She knew enough about eating disorders to know that emotional stress is a strong trigger.

Looking down at the table, the empty dishes were stacked to outside edge. Tom took a breath and closing his eyes briefly he sighed. Tom knew his other trigger was Cara, and the emotional rollercoaster she had put him through the last 2 years. However he was nervous about telling her, or anyone else about it.

Seeing Tom's troubled look, Catherine reached across the table and took Tom's hand, gently squeezing it. "Hey, you can talk to me about it. Get it off your chest, you'll feel better," She said softly as she slowly withdrew her hand. Her fingers trailing over the top of his hand as it returned to her. "I just want to help Tom. Just let me in," She pleaded softly to him.

The feelings of anxiety he was feeling were being overshadowed by the feelings of hurt and anger that had been welling up inside of him for the better part of 2 years. The tension inside of him was maddening.

The growing tension was tainting every aspect of his life. He found him self struggling more and more to avoid turning to food for comfort. Failing more often then he would like. It was then he made the decision to talk to Catherine about it and maybe relieve a bit of the tension pent up inside.

Just then the waitress walked up here electronic pad in her hand. "No rush on this guys, but I'll leave this here," She said placing the pad containing their bill on the table.

"Thank you, I'll take care of it right now," Tom said, brining his watch up to the pad, activating the payment app.

"Payment received, thank you very much and have a good evening," The waitress said as she walked away with the empty dishes.

"Thanks," Tom said standing up from the table.

"Walk with me?" Tom asked looking at Catherine who was now standing in front of him.

"Sure," she said as they walked out of the diner.

XXXXX


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty minutes passed in silence as both of them walked down the busy sidewalk of central district. Content to walk on the sidewalk rather then take the automated path.

The path illuminated by the numerous holograms projected into the air in front of the buildings surrounding them. An image reminiscent of Las Vegas all those centuries ago on Earth.

As they walked by the streams of people entering and leaving various shops, they said nothing to each other. Tom's thoughts were tumultuous. He was thinking about his life with Cara, and how it all seamed to fall apart.

How they met, with him being assigned to guard the meeting room she held her trade enforcement conferences in. How they fell in love quickly after that and her moving in with him soon after. The two years of passion they shared and how perfect it all seamed.

The happy thoughts faded out they were replaced by images of a darker time. One Tom was still stuck in. How her behavior one day suddenly was cold and practically emotionless. How for weeks on end she spoke next to nothing to him. Not letting him touch her in any way. No hugs, kissing or cuddling. All things Tom loved and craved.

How she would fly off on a rage at stupidly little things. Such as Tom leaving a towel on the floor in the wash room or leaving dishes in the sink. However not long after that, her explosive temper surfaced, and she started physically lashing out at him. Giving him numerous small scars. Many made by her dainty fingers clawing at him like a rabid cat.

Being honest with himself, Tom still loved Cara dearly, but knew deep down that they no longer had a viable relationship. However being alone was not something he was willing to accept.

XXXX

As they walked down the brightly lit, and bustling street, Catherine simply wished he would say something. Looking over at him, it was easy to see that he was deep in thought. During this time it had occurred to her just how much she cared for him. A soft smile formed on her face as she thought about her own feelings towards him.

She was not sure when it exactly started but she knew she cared for him, and that the feeling had been developing for a while. Ever since he had started opening up to her. Just a little at first then more and more as time went on, and their friendship started to develop. What started as a challenge to herself to try and open up Team Apex's then newest member, has taken on a far different tone.

She was surprised at her own behavior this evening. Holding his chin so intimately, or the slightly provocative dance she did with him. Not to mention her frequent soft touching of his hands, and leaning in to whisper into his ear. Actions clearly not in the realm of mere friendship but strictly into the territory of attraction, an idea she was quite open to.

Her feelings for him were not the product of how he looked but something more substantial. She had gotten more and more glimpses over the last year of his fun and warm personality, hidden beneath a veneer of fear and bashfulness.

Pushing the thought aside, she knew they were not possible, as he was still with Cara. There was one thing she was not, and that was the other woman. She would be ok with Tom, only as her close friend.

XXXX

"Cara," Tom said in a low voice his head hung low, not looking at his friend.

"Hmm? What's that?" Catherine said tilting her head at him, not hearing him clearly.

Looking directly to his right at Catherine, Tom spoke a little louder. "Its Cara."

"What about her Tom?" she asked quizzically. Searching his face for some sign as to how he was feeling. All she could see in his demeanor was sadness and pain.

"Something has changed with us, and not in a good way," he said his voice low.

"How so? Is everything alright?" she asked putting her hand on his shoulder. "Hey lets cross the street here, and start walking back," Catherine said. With Tom nodding in agreement. They crossed the street and headed back in the direction they came.

With a exasperated sigh, Tom shook his head. "No, everything is not alright," Tom said as he recounted the events of the last few years with Cara.

Catherine said nothing as she listened to his story. She had a hunch that there relationship was rocky, but she had no idea it was as bad as the stories he was telling her. From hitting and scratching him numerous times, to calling him names during the early part of his weight loss, often calling him Mr. Piglet.

She was having a hard time understanding how someone could be so cold and cruel to Tom. He was kind and warm and a lot of fun to hang out with. Now she understood why Tom would rush off after practice, and not be with them, talking or hanging out. He was busy trying to keep the peace at home.

She felt her face get hot, as the anger inside her began to rage like a bonfire. How could she be so blind? With all of her training and years of experience as a peace enforcer she should have been able to spot this.

XXXX

As Tom finished reciting his story to Catherine, there walk was nearing its end. "Jesus, Tom I had no idea," Catherine said, rubbing the side of her head gently. Taking Toms left hand in hers, she turned it over. There, on second and third fingers, about halfway to the tips were the deep wounds.

Her touch was as gentle as a feather, as she ran her finger tips over the dried liquid bandage that covered the offending gashes. "These are bad Tom, you should have had them looked at," she chastised.

"Why? There was no need. I took care of it. I'm pretty good at first aid you know. I have had plenty of practice on my self," he said to Catherine.

"What do you mean, you have plenty of practice on your self?" she said.

"Ill show you," Tom said.

She gasped as Tom rolled up both of his shirt sleeves. Revealing numerous small scars jotting in all directions on his upper arms and shoulder. The smaller scars looked like a angry cat used his arm for a scratching post. In the center was a large scar, about the length of a pack of cigarettes. This one looked older then the rest.

Touching the rough surface of the large scar, her emotions were swirling like a hurricane. Outwardly she showed no hint at her feelings. Tracing its shape with her finger, she was angry at the whole thing. Why didn't he just tell her what was going on sooner?

" _God damn her! How can she do this? Jesus Christ look at his arm!"_ Catherine thought to her self, slowly rubbing her forearm. As she tried to keep from balling her fists. Closing her eyes she shook her head once and thought. _"How can anyone do this to someone they care for? Clearly she doesn't care. "_

As they approached their car doors, they stopped and looked at each other. Tom could see that behind her teal eyes, she was concerned and angry. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything Cat. I was trying to handle it on my own," he said to her as he unlocked his car with a tap on his watch.

Unlocking her own car, she looked up at him. "So... Um.. What are you going to do? She cant keep doing that to you," Catherine said pointing to his arm.

"I don't know Cat. I thought about ending our relationship and having her move out, but I really don't want to be alone. I was alone for long enough before I met her," Tom said his arms folded. "I want to end it but I'm afraid. Its like I'm just giving up."

Sighing she closed the distance between them. "Your not giving up Tom. Look, how long have you been trying to deal with this? Two years now. Two YEARS Tom! If she wanted to work this out with you she would have already," Catherine said to him, starting to sound angry.

Clinching his fist and releasing it quickly, his chest was tightening with anguish. As his eyes started getting misty, a tear streaked down his face. "I... 't..know if I can... its just.. I'm so," Tom started to say but was cut off by Catherine. Her face curled in anger, her voice exploded at him.

"STOP MAKING EXCUSES THOMAS! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO LEAVE HER. IF YOU WOULD JUST TAKE A FUCKING RISK AND GROW A GOD DAMNED BACK BONE MAYBE SOMETHING BETTER WILL COME ALONG!" She screamed at Tom. Her heart was racing, her face a deep shade of red.

Tom backed away from her, surprised at her sudden outburst. "Cat I. I'm..I. Just," he tried to say, but again was cut off.

"You keep saying your afraid to be alone but yet you didn't even stop to think that you were never alone. We're here Tom all of us, we're here for you. I... am here for you. Your not alone, we'll be their every step of the way," She said to him.

As she moved closer to Tom, looking up at him with a soft smile. She reached up with her hand and wiped the tear's away that were flowing from Tom's eyes.

Tom's heart was filled with anguish, he was struggling to contain the pain he was feeling inside. Taking a deep breath and holding it briefly, he tried to calm himself. Looking down into her beautiful teal green eyes, the anger he previously saw there, was replaced by a look of caring and affection.

He loved the feeling of her warm, soft hand apon his cheek as she wiped his tears. Closing his eyes breifly he relished her touch. He knew she had spoken the truth. He had tried long enough, suffered enough. It was time to take a risk and move on.

" _Honestly, I have been wanting to end it for a while now,"_ Tom thought to him self.

Taking a deep breath, Tom started to calm him self. His tears slowly coming to an end. His decision having had a calming effect on the weighty tension in his chest.

"Ok," He said, his voice breaking. "I'm going to end it, as soon as I get back," He said in a low tone to Catherine.

Satisfied his tears would not return for the moment, Catherine took her hand from his cheek. Placing her hand on his shoulder, wearing a half smile on her face. "Will you be ok?" she asked him softly.

"Ya I think so. I know this will probably hurt, but the sooner I do it the faster I can move on," He said as he fully regained his own composure.

"Ok. You call me tomorrow after you wake up ok," she said, as she turned her car on.

"I'll call you soon as I can," Tom said as he turned his own vehicle on.

"Alright, I will talk to you soon then. Cya later Ok? She said, as she hopped in the drivers seat.

"Ya, Cya later Cat," Tom said, as he helped close her door. With a quick wave of her hand, she backed out and drove away.

Getting into his car, Tom drove home, to face Cara.

XXXX

Tom arrived home as the sun was beginning to rise, the morning sky awash in reddish orange colors.

Gathering his bag from the trunk, he started short walk to his apartment door. As he walked he was very nervous. With as erratic and rage prone Cara was, he had no idea what to expect from her.

Walking inside, the apartment door locking behind him with a loud click, Tom saw Cara sitting at the kitchen table. The look on her face was devoid of emotion, nearly unreadable as she sipped on a glass of water.

She looked up at Tom, placing her cup down on the table. Her eyes narrowed the look on her face becoming decidedly more anger filled. "So... you FINALLY came home," she said standing up from the table.

Setting his bag down by the door, Tom walked over to her, looking directly at her russet brown eyes. "Cara... We have to talk," He said to her softly.

"Oh really?" she said sarcastically. Tom could tell just by looking at her body language, she was getting more angry as the seconds wore on.

" _Ahh crap, she's really pissed,"_ Tom thought rubbing his forehead.


	5. Chapter 5

Walking back from her kitchen to the living room, Catherine was unsettled. She had been thinking about Tom, and his situation with Cara all morning since departing from Jenny's diner. Something about the way Tom described Cara's behavior was causing her great concern.

Sitting on the couch still in the clothing she wore earlier, she had her P.D.A in her hands. She was skimming through the search engine. She found a medical website called BodySearch. It featured a massive searchable database of medical problems. The search field was multi-tiered. She selected behavioral disorders tab, which brought up numerous fill in boxs.

Filling in the details of Cara's behavior she learned from Tom earlier in the evening she hit enter.

A minute later the search concluded. On the screen was a list of possible things that can be causing her irrational behavior. Next to each item was a number percentage indicating the likely hood the selection was correct, based on the input received.

On the screen were items such as bipolar and dissociative personality disorder and others that she had not even heard of.

As she scrolled down the page, her eyes fell on one entry in particular. It was the first one with a 97% accuracy rating, dwarfing all the rest on screen. It was a entry for addiction to Baseline. She clicked the link and read the vast amount of information inside.

She learned that Baseline is often abused by people in high risk/ high pressure jobs due to its suppression of emotions. This drug was also popular thanks to how long it lasted, nearly 9 hours. During the course of the day, it would suppress all emotions, not letting any of them get to high or to low. True to its name it keeps the emotional spectrum to a small and limited baseline.

However as with all things narcotic there were serious side affects. Withdraw happened very quickly after the 9 hour mark. Most notably amongst the withdraw side affects were rapid changes in emotional state. The user would go from one extreme to the other of the emotional spectrum rapidly and with no warning. Resulting in unpredictable behavior.

It also noted that as time went on, this would only get worse. Gradually the abuser would enter states of rage only to be followed by periods completely devoid of emotion. During this time they tend to come off as cold and unfeeling and unaffectionate. Uncaring for those around them. Another symptom of this worsening state is a volatile temper, one that is easy to set off for petty reasons.

It stated that if left untreated they would eventually become violently angry. Often becoming a danger to themselves and those around them. Usually a spouse or partner was the victim of the violence that ensued.

Usually at this point the abuser would loose all control of their mental faculties, and start screaming and howling with fury. The page then went on to list typical behaviors seen during a rage episode. It was here that Catherine's mouth dropped. They matched Cara's perfectly.

From screaming to hitting and biting and scratching like a wild animal, here it all was.

One of the last entries was a warning. That if left untreated and the addiction was in an advanced state, the user could become homicidal. The homicidal event would likely be triggered by some emotionally painful event. Typically its the departure of a spouse or partner from the degenerated relationship.

Apon reading this, Catherine gasped loudly becoming nearly frantic with fear. _"OH MY GOD, Tom's in danger. I have to get to him!"_ She thought to herself in a near panic.

Standing up quickly she grabbed her purse, and her duty belt from her safe in the bedroom, making sure it had all of its equipment. Sliding the belt on her hips she rushed out the door and into her car. Flipping on her red and blue emergency lights she sped off as fast as she could, towards Toms apartment. "I just hope I'm not to late."

XXX

"DAMNIT CARA STOP!" Tom yelled as he dodged another picture frame she had thrown at his head. The frame hitting the wall behind him smashing to pieces. He had moved so that now he was standing near the kitchen table.

" Cara, this is what I'm talking about! This right here is why we are done! This is why I want you out of my apartment! What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted at her, as she picked up a stack of books, and threw them at him. Tom deftly ducked the flying books as they fell to the floor.

Cara was screaming wildly, panting heavily. "WHATS... WRONG WITH ME! YOU!. YOUR WHATS WRONG!" she screamed as she pulled his large computer screen off the wall, smashing it against the ground.

Deciding to stay out of her way, he had hoped she would start to calm. However she only seamed to get worse. She was howling and screaming, her eyes full of unbridled rage.

"What? How am I what's wrong with you Cara? You have been acting like this for a long time. I don't know what's going on!" He shouted at her as she continued tearing things off the wall. throwing them at him. Some items he was unable to dodge and hit him on the shoulder and arm.

"I just don't understand, most of the time your cold as ice, you don't even care for me. We used to be so in love, but its like it just stopped. Then you get so mad, over stupid things. Look at this, look at my arm! Look at all scars you put their!" he shouted at her, dodging more decorations flung his way.

"YOU! ITS YOUR FAULT! I HAVE TO HURT YOU! YOU MAKE ME HURT YOU! YOU FUCKING BETRAYED ME! YOU GOD DAMN WORTHLESS PIG!" she screamed at him. Grabbing a large book off the shelf, she ran towards Tom wanting to bash him with it. However she tripped over the mussed up rug. Landing face first on the floor near the kitchen counter. Scooting onto her backside, she started to sob.

Seeing she was hurt, Tom walked over to her. Grabbing her shoulders, he gently helped her up. Holding her tight in his arms, he looked down at her. "What do you mean I betrayed you? Surely you had to have known this was coming? Our relationship has been disintegrating for along time now," Tom said softly to her, trying to keep her calm. He felt her right hand gently snake up to the back of his neck.

As he was looking into her bloodshot eyes, he was not paying attention to what her left hand was grabbing ahold of.

"You want to know how you betrayed me?" she asked as she looked up at him. Tears rolled down her face, as she was breathing heavily.

"Yes, tell me what this is all about?" Tom asked as he gently stroked her hair.

Suddenly the sad look on her face, was replaced with one of pure anger. Grabbing a decorative flower vase in her left hand, from kitchen counter. Tom was caught off guard as the vase smashed into the side of his face. He felt dizzy, as sparkles filled his vision. The pain was intense, blood streaming off his gashed open cheek.

Before he could think, Cara had grabbed a plate from the cabinet and smashed it against his cheek. Shattering the plate, and splattering blood everywhere. Darkness started to fill his vision as Tom was driven to his knees.

Bringing his hands up to the sides of his head, Tom guarded his injured face with this forearms.

"THAT IS WHAT YOU DESERVE FOR TAKING THAT WAREHOUSE JOB, AND LEAVEING ME TO THE GANGS!" Cara yelled as she stepped back from Tom. "HAD YOU TAKEN THE BODY GUARD JOB, YOU COULD HAVE MADE ALOT MORE MONEY! I COULD HAVE QUIT TRADE ENFORCING! INSTEAD I WAS FORCED TO STAY IN THIS TERRIFYING JOB!" she screamed at him, throwing another book at him, only for it to impact his forearms.

With that, she backed away and walked into the bedroom. Toms vision clearing, he stood up, keeping his hands raised infront of his chest. His head throbbing from the repeated blows. Blood was covering his face and arms, as the open gash on his cheek continued to bleed.

"I want you out Cara, get out of my apartment, we are done! I cant live like this any more. What ever your problem is, you need help. This isn't normal." He called to Cara in the bedroom.

Just then, Cara came walking back into the room, her arms behind her back. She appeared calmer then just a minute before. She walked with in a foot of Tom and just stood there, hands still behind her.

XXXX

Pulling up to Toms apartment complex, her emergency lights still activated. Catherine drove around back. Seeing Tom and Cara's car, she parked her own across the street. Turning her lights and car off she exited and began walking up to the door.

As she approached the door, she looked into the window to see Cara standing near Tom, whose face was bleeding profusely. The room was a mess with nearly every major item inside broken and smashed.

Suddenly, Cara pulled a small pistol from behind her back and pointed it at Toms chest. Catherine ran up to his door and placed her thumb on the pad. "Print not recognized," said the computer voice.

"Peace enforcement override, Catherine 2-2-1 Beta," Catherine said.

"Peace enforcement authorization recognized," The synthetic voice called back unlocking the door.

XXXX

Toms eyes went wide, as he saw Cara bring a small pistol around from behind her back. Time felt like it slowed down, as his hands shot forward and grabbed the pistol and the hand that contained it. Pushing them up and to the right, while simultaneously dropping his body downward. The gun discharged and bullet missed its intended mark, his heart, and instead grazed his shoulder and impacted upon the door frame. It felt as if a flaming hammer had hit his shoulder the force of which drove Tom back several inches.

Tom didn't let go of either her hand or the firearm as a struggle ensued over control of the firearm. Cara by now was screaming like a mad woman, trying to kick Tom's testicles with her shoes. Tom however deftly covered them by raising his shin to block her foot.

Tom seeing he was in control of both her hands and the firearm was going to hip toss her to the ground, and try to disarm her. However before he could act the door slid open and Catherine ran inside.

Ignoring Tom, she quickly walked straight up to Cara and kicked her in the chest with a powerful front kick. Impacting with a sickening crack as several ribs broke, driving the air from Cara's lungs. "ARHHHHHAHHH!" yelled Cara as her knees buckled as she was forced to the floor by the vicious kick.

Her hands still in the air, held up in Toms firm grip. The barrel of the small pistol still pointed at the metallic door frame.

Reaching behind Toms head, Catherine wrenched the pistol from Cara's hand, fracturing her trigger finger in process. Eliciting even more screams from the crazed woman.

Tom dropped her hands, as Catherine walked up and grabbed the back of Cara's black hair in one hand. Roughly pulling it down. The world suddenly went black as Catherine's fist connected with Cara's eye socket. Cara slumped on the ground unconscious.

Tapping her computer watch, Catherine called the peace enforcement dispatch.

"Dispatch, this is Sargent Jamesine, Im at 2212 Appleton court apartment 14. I need medics at this location. Shots fired," she called into her watch.

"Roger that Sargent, do you require assistance?" the young male voice asked.

"Negative, situation resolved, one female suspect in custody. However we have one gunshot wound victim and the female will require medical attention as well," Catherine said sternly to the dispatcher.

"Acknowledged ma'am medics on route.," Said the male dispatcher.

"Roger, thanks dispatch," Catherine said, ending the conversation.

Catherine walked up to Cara's unconscious body and rolled her over onto her stomach. Moving her arms behind her back she placed handcuffs on both wrists.

She turned around and looked at Tom. Gently grabbing his chin, she turned his head examining his wounds. "Jesus! Tom what happened?" Catherine asked as they waited for the medics to arrive.

10 minutes went by as Tom explained everything. How Cara had gone out of control and started hurling things at him and destroying the apartment.

"I didn't call the peace enforcers, how did you know to come here Cat?" Tom asked, wincing in pain. The act of speaking now very painful, with his gashed open and battered face. "I'm glad your here though."

Walking over to a drawer Catherine grabbed a towel and held it on Toms still bleeding shoulder. As she put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, she told him what she had learned at home. "I couldn't sleep, so I got on the Ethernet to try and understand what was wrong with Cara. I put what you told me about her into BodySearch, and what I saw told me you were in danger," Catherine said to him. "Here hold this. Put pressure on it," she said to him, as he placed his hand on the towel.

Walking over to his sink she washed his blood off her hand. "What did you find on the net?" Tom asked as blood was starting to soak the towel.

"Here put this towel over the old one," Catherine said tossing him a clean towel. "What the search came back with, was a 97% certainty that she was addicted to the drug Baseline," she said as she began looking around the apartment.

"I have never heard of Baseline. Tell me about it. Oh and what are you looking for?" Tom asked quizzically.

"Im looking for the drugs. The symptoms of this drug are horrible," she said.

Tom was quiet as Catherine explained about the side affects of the drug, and how Cara's behavior fit perfectly with someone with advanced addiction to it. When she had read that users become homicidal if emotional trauma is experienced, she came right over.

"Breaking up with her is a definite emotional trauma. So I came over as soon as I could. I'm just glad your still in one piece. More or less," Catherine said as she dumped the contents of Cara's purse out.

"Ah ha! Found em!" Catherine exclaimed as she opened a concealed compartment in Cara's purse. From with in she pulled out a small bottle with a number of tiny blue pills inside.

It was at that moment both medical vans pulled up outside. "I'll be right back Tom, I'm going to go meet the medics and give them the drugs," Catherine said as she walked outside with the drugs in hand.

XXX

Its been 15 minutes since the two pairs of medics had arrived. Tom sat on a stool as the medic cleaned up his shoulder wound. "Tst.. ahh man that hurts!" Tom said cringing his face.

"Stop moving! I have to clean it out. You wont feel a thing when I put the Trauma gel in it," the medic said to Tom.

"3...2..1...Lift!" said one medic to the other as they lifted the now conscious but sedated Cara onto the stretcher.

"So what's going to happen with her?" Tom asked to the medics who were putting leather restraints on her wrists and ankles.

"She is going to the emergency room to get her injuries looked at. Then to the pyschiatric ward untill the Sargent here sentences her," The medic said to Tom as he finished her restraints and checked her pulse. Making sure she was not overly sedated.

Toms shoulder was now numb as the trauma gel was applied. "Ok hold still im going to put in the bio-stitches." The medic said calmly to Tom as he slowly stitched the wound together. Tom could feel the needle entering and leaving his skin, but thanks to the gel he barely felt any discomfort.

"Hey that didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would." Tom said chuckling to him self.

" Oh you big baby!" Catherine said with a laugh.

"Be nice, jeez." Tom said with a soft chuckle.

The medic rubs some cleaning agent in the gash on Toms face. Tom closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth, as the liquid stung and burned in the wound. His relief came quickly afterwards as the medic opened another packet of trauma gel and applied it to the wound.

"Ok, you need to hold really still for this. I'm going to use the micro sutures on this. You move and you'll regret it," the medic said as he reached into his case and pulled out a small rectangular device.

As the medic placed it on Toms face, he felt the device pull both sides of the gash close together. It then felt as if a thousand tiny teeth were gently nipping at his face. The Strange sensation moved slowly from one end of the wound to the other. 10 minutes later it was finished.

"Their you go, thanks for not moving. It can take a long time to finish but, the micro sutures really cut down on healing time and scarring," The medic said to Tom as he arranged his medical case and closed it.

"Thank you very much," Tom said as he shook the medics hand.

" No problem, just make sure you clean it carefully twice a day and it will be healed in no time," The medic said as he walked out the door and left in his van.

Catherine stepped close to Tom looking at the devices handy work. The stitches the device used were so small they could not be seen by the naked eye. The gash was closed so tightly that only you had to look close to see the seam.

"Ya those things are awesome. I had to use one after I got my forehead split open during a fight. No scar see?" she said pointing to a small area over her left eye.

"Wow cant even tell you were cut!" Tom said looking at the spot in question.

"Ya its nice. Cant risk ruining this goddess like visage!" she said with mock smugness holding her head high. This brought about a long bought of laughing from both of them.

"Well hey, I have to get going. I have to go to the station and prepare her sentence." Catherine said as she stepped towards the door.

"What are you going to do with her?" Tom asked, his voice low.

"What do you want me to do Tom? I can throw the book at her if you like. She did try to kill you," Catherine said as she opened his apartment door.

"Cat I know she did, but I still care for her. She needs help. Get her help," Tom said with sincerity.

"I thought you would say that. Ok. Ill deport her back to Earth. She has family there. Earth is far more equipped to handle the rehab of a case like Cara. She wont get the kind of psychiatry here that she needs," Catherine said as she adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

" I'll send the scavenger crew here to remove all the broken and damaged stuff, and they will replace everything. On Cara's dime of course. According to my records you both have private accounts," Catherine said quickly while swiping through apps on her computer watch. " I'll also send some movers here when the scav's get done. To collect her things. Ill make sure they come by while your at work. Don't worry I'll come and supervise it," she said.

"Ok good, I was nervous about letting strangers in. Thanks for all this Cat," Tom said with a smile.

"Ok I have to go. Ill check in on you at work ok. You may have a concussion so take it easy at practice for a while. No sparring or contact of any kind," She said sternly to Tom.

"Ok Ill take it easy. Though how will I substitute my exercise?" Tom asked to Catherine.

" Don't worry about it, just cut back a bit on food intake and rest. You need to heal. Ok I need to go. I'll Talk to you later ok," Catherine said as she stepped out side.

"Ok Cat, Talk to you later. Im going to sleep," Tom said

"Bye" They both said to each other after a quick friendly hug.

XXX

After spending some 20 minutes soaking in his shower, Tom got into his robe and walked into the kitchen. Taking a melatonin pill with a large drink of water, Tom marched off to bed. Slowly navigating the mess of broken glass and other items.

Settling in to his bed, he laid down on his soft yet supporting pillow, a tear forming in his eye. "I'm sorry Cara, I'm so sorry!" Tom said his voice breaking as he sobbed himself to sleep.

XXX

Later that night, Tom was in the warehouse security office. He had just finished his 4th patrol and was sitting at the control desk monitoring the sleeping animals. The starwolves were all sleeping in giant piles, towards the back of their large artifical dens. Only occasional whimpers from pups breaking the quiet stillness of the night.

The oppressive silence was not providing Tom with distraction from the events earlier in the day. His mind was busy replaying the entirety of their life together for the last 4 years. Amongst the calvalcade of emotions he was feeling Tom felt sadness and guilt the most.

Sad that a large part of his life just ended in dramatic fashion. Sad that what was his best friend and lover, was now, forever lost to him.

As he sat flipping monitor channels, looking at various starwolf dens, Tom was feeling sorry for himself. He did not get to dwell on his self pity for very long, due to the sudden chiming of his wrist computer.

The caller I.D. showing Catherines picture and NETID number.

" _Incoming video conference request from Catherine Jamesine... Do you wish to accept? "_ the watch displayed in bold letters.

Tapping the yes button, the screen went black then a second later connected to Catherines watch.

There on the screen was Catherines face, locks of red hair flowing over her right eye and a soft smile on her lips. "Hey Tom, how you holding up?" she asked while brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Not very well truthfully.. The stitches in my shoulder itch and my face hurts.. Alot," Tom whined.

"That will go away quickly. I wouldnt think about it to much," Catherine said.

"I hope so, it hurts to even chew food," Tom said with a chuckle.

"Well I cant talk for very long. I am on my way to your appartment. The scavenger crews just arrived and I need to let them in and supervise," Catherine said.

"Thanks for watching over them for me Cat. I appreicate it," Tom said as he gently scratched his shoulder. " Id still be up if it was just me trying to clean that up by my self," he said with a half smile.

"Hey no worries man, really. This case is my responsibility so I might as well just see it through to the end. Besides your my friend, its no problem,"she said looking away from the watch for a moment.

"Well hey, I'm here and their already unloading all their clean up gear. So I'll get going. Your appartment should be cleaned up and ready by the time you get home," Catherine said. A electric whine could be heard as her car's engine powered down.

"Ok Cat, I'll talk to later and thanks again. I owe you big time," Tom said.

"Hey no problem at all really. Bye Tom," She said stepping out of her car.

"Bye Cat," Tom said with a smile as he ended the video conference.

Despite all that happend, and how he felt earlier he now found that he was feeling much better. His heart still hurt but for the moment seeing Catherine's smiling face seamed to ease those feeling's if just for a bit.

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

As Tom pulled into his appartment complex he noticed that Cara's vehicle was no longer present. "Cat must have had someone tow it," he said to him self. However, it did not escape Tom's attention that Catherines patrol car was now parked in a adjacent spot. "She's still here?" Tom said to him self. Cocking his head to side with a look of confusion.

Quickly shaking the thoughts away, he parked his car and grabbeds his work bag. Placing his pistol on his hip he walked up to the door. Before he could reach the thumb pad to unlock the door, it opened. On the other side stood Catherine, still in her uniform.

"Hey Tom, the movers just left," she said with a warm smile, stepping aside to let Tom in to the appartment.

Looking around the room was a stark and painful reminder of how hollow his life had just become. All the reminders of his life with Cara were now missing. The broken pictures, that once proudly displayed their smiling faces now gone. As were the various books and nic-nacs that Cara had broken during her delirium the morning before.

Shelves and walls that once held the various peices of their life were now barren. As if a giant vaccum sucked all proof of her life from this appartment. From the pictures to vases and flower pots, clothing and various other furniture items. It was all gone.

"Good God its empty," Tom said with a frown as he walked around. Touching the various places that once held precious pictures of him and Cara. "It's almost as if she never lived here," Tom said motioning around the room.

Catherine walked up, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I know, but not much was salvageable," She said. Looking to the right side of the room she pointed her finger gaining his attention. "Look they replaced your computer monitor. Its the newest model. Even better then the last. Same with the carpet," Catherine said motioning towards the wall and floor with a wave of her hand.

"If you like, I can help you redecorate. When your feeling up to it of course," Catherine said as she looked towards the kitchen.

"Ya that would be nice. I could use some help. Cara was soo good at decoration," Tom said cheerfully.

"Oh, come to the kitchen I made you breakfast," she said as she lead him to the kitchen.

"Ah man thanks Cat! It's been a long time since I have come home to a waiting breakfast," Tom said as he began eating the eggs and bacon she had prepared.

"You're welcome," she said as she sat down at the table across from him and started eating.

Taking a drink of orange juice, Tom finished his plate, and placed his and Catherines in the dish washer.

"Seriously that was just what I needed. Thank you very much. I could get used to this," Tom said with a chuckle, eliciting a giggle from Catherine.

After sitting on the couch for about an hour talking, Tom suddenly felt very tired. Rubbing his forehead, he yawned. "Jeez I'm tired all the sudden," Tom said.

"Ya you likely got a slight concussion. Just get some rest, and go to clinic tommorow to get checked out," Catherine said as she slowly stood up, gathering her purse and other items. "I'll let you get some rest," she said.

"Ok Cat, I'm off to bed," he said walking her to the door.

"Ok sleep well Tom," she said as she gave him a quick hug. "If you still feel like crap when you wake up, go to the clinic," she said stepping outside.

"Will do. Thanks for all you have done Cat. I owe you alot," he said as she stepped inside.

"It's all good, Cya later Tom," she said with a quick wave of her hand, as she entered her vechicle and drove away.

After cleaning up, Tom settled into bed. Falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

XXX

Sitting in the examination room, Tom felt nauseous. Having woke up vomiting, and with a terrible headach, he headed to the clinic. He was awaiting the results of the 3-D X-Ray Computed Tomography scan.

The lighting was turned down to a softer setting, helping to aleveate the pain in his now photosensitive eyes. The small white room was clean, every thing arranged meticulously in its place on the long counter that sat apon the wall.

Standing up from the examination bed, Tom paced the room. He was getting bored, having waited for an hour for the results. Clasping his hands behind his back, he took a breath and sighed. "I wonder how much longer this is going to take," he said as he ran his hands through his hair.

Just then, the door opened and in stepped the doctor. A older man with salt and pepper hair, wearing a white jacket, grey t shirt and tan pants. "Mr. Maxton. How are you today? I'm Doctor Marclay," he said shaking Toms hand with a smile.

"Howdy," Tom said returning the smile. Sitting back down on the examination bed, Tom rubbed his forehead. "I feel like like crap. My face hurts, the stitches in my shoulder itch. Lastly I'm quite nauseous and I have a splitting headache," Tom said raising his hand to his furrowed brow, gently massaging it.

Dr. Marclay pulled up a stool next to the exam bed and sits down. From his pocket he retrieved a P.D.A. Quickly tapping and swiping the screen he brings up Toms information. Confirming the compiled data and accompanying 3D interactive image were present, he turned to Tom.

"Sorry to hear that Mr. Maxton. Considering your symptoms and how you acquired your injuries, I conclude you have a grade 1 concussion. Which is mild," the Doctor said, as he brought up his P.D.A. Moving the stool next to Tom, he held the device out so they both could see the hologram floating above the screen. It was a full color, 3D CGI hologram of Toms brain.

"As you can see this is your brain. This image is a compilation of thousands of individual scans of your brain. Each one representing a small slice of your brain. Then the computer puts it all together in one comprehensive 3D hologram. All of this happening in a matter of seconds. The hard part is reading everything and correctly interpreting the results. That is what takes the most time," Dr. Marclay said as he tapped a highlighted area on the right side of the brain, enlarging the area.

"This right side of the frontal lobe. This is the location were our scans indicate your concussion," Dr. Marclay said, zooming in on the area. Now showing the surface of the individual neurons. "If you look here, you can see that the surface of the affected neurons are not damaged in any way. This is a good thing as you will recover faster," Tom tilted his head at the image, confused. His eyebrow raised.

"However, sometimes you can have concussions with contusions, that will damage the neurons," Dr. Marclay said.

"If there is no damage, then why do I feel like this?" Tom said.

"Well concussions disrupt the function of the neurons. So a mild concussion like this wont damage the structure, but damage the actual process's going on inside it. Here take a look."

Tapping a option on the screen, Dr. Marclay now overlaid the flow of information around the brain. Numerous blue streams flowed down then neurons quickly.

"Now pay attention to the area that has the concussion. As you can see, the information is moving slower through this area, then through the undamaged area surrounding it," He said to Tom.

Looking at the image closer Tom could see the blue steams of information slow down as they enter the area, only to speed back up as they exit the damaged section. "So that's why I feel like crap?" Tom asked looking at the Doctor.

"In a nutshell yep. You'll make a full recovery if, and ONLY IF, you take it easy. I'm serious, any strain and re-injury at all you will make it worse and be more susceptible to concussions in the future. According to my charts, you are involved with martial arts and work in high risk security," The Doctor asked as he started typing into his P.D.A.

"Yes I work in Mr. Cerelons warehouse 7, with his starwolves. I train martial arts at Team Apex," Tom said flatly.

"Ok, I'm sending orders to your coach and your supervisor taking you off duty for 10 days. I don't want you taking any risks. Heal your brain, and enjoy the vacation,"Dr. Marclay said as he finished sending the orders to their recipients.

"Will I need any medication?" Tom asked as he straightened his shirt.

"Mild concussions don't require medication or stem cell intervention. The best way to heal it, is to rest and not injure it further," the Doctor said as both men stood up. "I want to see you back here in 10 days, so we can re-scan your brain and check how its healing."

"Great thank you sir. At least its not serious, man she whacked me hard twice," Tom said in a low voice. His fingers gently touching the side of his face.

" I read the Sargent's report. If all you got from that was a concussion then consider yourself lucky. She very nearly killed you," Dr. Marclay said as they both exited the room.

"Oh trust me, I am well aware how close to death I came. I thank God that I am still breathing. Ill tell you though. I feel like a dumb-ass for not knowing she was on baseline," Tom said as they neared the exit.

"Few people realize that is the problem until it is to late. Its a devastating drug. At least now she will get the help she needs," The Doctor said as he came to a stop next to the exit. "Well good luck and I'll see you back here in 10 Days," He said shaking Toms hand.

"Thanks Doc, cya in 10 days," Tom said as he walked out the door and to the check out.

As Tom walked out the doors to the large, gray stone medical building, he placed his sleek sunglasses on over his eyes. Getting into his car he began the drive home from Central District.

XXX

As Tom was pulling up to his apartment, he got a call on his wrist computer. It was Terrance Evanthorpe head of facility security for warehouse 7. An older white male with tanned skin, he had a warm, even friendly voice.

Tapping the yes button, Tom accepted the call. "Hey Terrance. How are you?" Tom asked.

"I'm great Tom. Doctor called and told me about your incident. He ordered you to 10 days off. It's a bit short notice but we will manage. Do you want to use your vacation time for this?" he asked. Tom nodded his head.

"Yes sir, I'll use them. I was going to go on a vacation with Cara, but that idea has been flushed down the toilet. Might as well spend some of them on me," Tom said to his supervisor. Shaking his head a smile formed on Terrance's face.

"Sure thing Tom. You just focus on getting better. We need you at one hundred percent. For your safety as well as that of the animals," he said. "Ill cya when you get back. Let me know how your next checkup goes."

Parking his car, Tom exited the vehicle and turned it off. Walking to the trunk he grabbed his gear bag.

"Thanks Terrance, I could use a bit of R&R. I'm going to vegetate and have a movie marathon. Cya later Terrance," Tom said as he entered his apartment.

"Have a good vacation Tom," he said as he ended the call.

Setting his gear down in the bed room, Tom changed out of his clothing into his night robes. After grabbing some lunch from the fridge, he sat down on the couch.

Turning on his monitor he settled in for a long day of relaxing. After absentmindedly flipping through the channels, Tom settled on one the science fiction networks. He smiled as the movie began.

"Attack of the Dead. Nice I love zombie movies," Tom said. Pulling a white blanket around him self, he continued to eat his lunch. "Zombies. The most awesome apocalypse ever!" Tom exclaimed with some quick laughter.

Flipping his foot rest out, Tom settled in for a hard day of watching movies.

XXX

"Here's your oatmeal, a touch of honey and some blueberries. Enjoy," Catherine said with a smile. Handing the bowel to Tom. Grabbing her portion they both sat down at the kitchen table. Catherine sitting across from Tom.

"Thanks," Tom said as they both began eating.

Catherine had been coming over to Toms apartment every day for the last week and a half. More often then not, she would come over for breakfast, after training at Team Apex. As well as coming over for a few hours in the evening before work to have dinner and spend some time with Tom. Checking to make sure his head injury was healing and just enjoying his company.

"Cara got deported earlier this morning," Catherine said as she took a sip of her herbal tea. Tom looked up at her, as she took another bite of her oatmeal.

"Damn, I really wanted to be there when she was loaded on the transport," Tom said as looking down at his bowel. "I really wanted to say goodbye. Try and give us both some closure," he said frowning slightly.

Reaching across the table, Catherine gently placed her hand on top of Tom's. Her small thumb softly caressing his hand. Tom looked at Catherine with a saddened look and gently squeezed her hand.

"It was for the best Tom. They couldn't stabilize her mental state. She was still delirious and violent. There has not been a moment of calm since they brought her in. She had to be sedated just to safely engage her cryo-stasis chamber on-board the transport," Catherine said as they finished their meal and cleared the table. Putting the dishes in the dish washer.

"Really it was that bad?" Tom asked. Walking over to the picture window in living room. Looking out over the pond and basketball courts of his complex.

Walking over to Tom, Catherine placed her arm around his waist, and gave him a gentle squeeze. Tom smiled and placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"Yeah, it was bad. Had she been stable I would have brought you with me Tom. I know you wanted to say goodbye. She was a mess Tom. Screaming and cursing, thrashing wildly. All you would have gotten was pain and heartbreak, and I didn't want to see you get hurt again," she said softly.

The stood by the window for several minutes, in silence. Their arms still holding each other. Taking his hand they walked to the door.

"Hey I gotta get home, and get some sleep. I'll be back later this afternoon. Well head to the clinic and get your check up, and maybe grab a bite to eat afterwords," she said.

"Alright Cat, Ill see you this afternoon. Thanks for coming over, it means a lot," Tom said. Catherine turned around, wrapping him in a warm hug. Her head laying on his chest. Listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

Softly reaching behind Toms head, she gently pulled his head lower as her lips brushed his. Running her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer, deepening their kiss.

Catherine sighed as their lips gently pulled apart, Tom still running his fingers through her long red hair. Stepping back from him, she opened the door and stepped out.

"Alright, I gotta go now, Ill cya later ok," she said with a soft smile.

"Cya this afternoon Cat. Hope you sleep well," Tom said as she began walking towards her car.

"Bye," they called to each other. Tom stepped inside his apartment as Catherine's car pulled away.

Grabbing his P.D.A Tom sat on the couch. Flipping through the channels on the monitor, he waited for the afternoon to come, and his check up with Dr. Marclay.

XXX

Later that afternoon, Tom and Catherine were walking out of the clinic. Tom just having gotten a clean bill of health, they were deciding on their next course of action.

"So, want to get something to eat? I'm getting kinda hungry," Tom said. Taking her hand in his as they walked to Catherine's car.

Catherine looked over to him, her hair blowing gently in the wind. Smiling, she gently squeezed his hand. "Yeah, got anything in mind?" she asked. Tom walked over to the drivers side door, and helped Catherine into the seat.

"I'm not sure. How about Jenny's? I have not had their dinners yet," Tom said as he got into the passenger seat and closed the door.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood for a burger," she said as she started the vehicles engine. "Let's go to Greens N Things. They have the best salads, thick and delicious," she suggested to Tom.

Raising his eyebrow, he thought about it for a moment. "Sure, why not. I have not been there in a long time," he said with a half smile, as they drove away.

XXX

An hour later, they were sitting in their brightly colored booth. The walls adorned with vividly colored murals. Depicting various kinds of rabbits eating vegetables in a grassy meadow.

Tom had ordered a power greens salad. Complete with kale, spinach and collard greens, topped with red wine vinegar and olive oil. He also ordered a serving of grilled chicken, that he sliced on top of the salad. Catherine was eating a Caesar salad with grilled beef.

"This is really good. Forgot how much I loved their salads," Tom said. Looking at Catherine with a smile, he continued eating his meal.

"Their great. Not only is it tasty, its really healthy. Which is great because I'm cutting for my fight next weekend," she said finishing her salad.

Taking the last bite of his salad, Tom looked at her curiously. "Why do you need to loose weight? You look great," he said. Taking his last sip of water, he placed their empty plates on the tray.

Shifting from her seat, to sit next to Tom. Reaching over and taking hold of his hand, she laid her head against his shoulder. "Awe thanks!" she said looking at him with a soft smile. "The reason I cut, is because I am faster at 135 pounds, which is bantam weight, then I am at higher weights. Besides when I re-hydrate and carb up before the fight, my weight will go back up. It is one way to allow me to fight smaller people then I would normally," she said flatly.

As t hey both stood up, Tom took the trays to the receptacle. Tom held the door for her as they left the building. " Is it really necessary though? I have seen you take down bigger and heavier guys in sparring with ease," he said as they walked hand in hand towards her car.

"Yeah sadly it is. You gotta play the game, if you wanna win. Everyone is cutting for fights, for the exact same reasons I am. Its part of being competitive. If I stayed at walk around weight, I would be at 145 pounds. Which means I potentially have to fight someone with a walk around weight of 155 pounds or more. I would be at a disadvantage," she said. "I want nothing more then to win. So I do what I have to, to win."

"Huh, I never thought of it like that. Of course I have never been in a MMA match either. Maybe someday ill get to have a real fight," Tom said as he helped her into the vehicle. Taking his place in the passenger seat, they began the drive back to his apartment.

"Maybe someday, but not before your ready. No need to rush it, " Catherine said. Gently squeezing his hand, as they wove through traffic.

XXX

An hour later, Tom was home. After having given Catherine a kiss good bye, Tom was sitting on the couch. After having talked to his supervisor Terrance about returning to work Sunday night, Tom was silently flipping through the channels on his monitor.

Sitting alone, the spot next to him that once belonged to Cara was now glaringly empty. He felt the icy cold tendrils of pain and loss. Sadness and despair slowly take grip on his broken heart.

Catherine had kept him so busy since the breakup, that he hadn't had much time to contemplate what happened between him and Cara. To sufficiently grieve for the loss of his best friend, the love of his life. To allow himself to feel the feelings that needed to be brought to bear. To release the anger, the sadness, and the guilt that were pent up inside of him.

The pain in his chest growing to nearly unbearable levels, his eyes watered as he choked back the tears. The turmoil inside nearly reaching its breaking point, Tom stood up.

Running his fingers through his hair, he walked to the kitchen. Standing in front of his refrigerator, he opened it. Looking inside he could feel the same familiar war beginning to surface inside his subconscious.

Staring at the various food items inside the refrigerator, Tom stared lustily at them. He could not decide which one to eat first.

As he stood there, looking at a bowel of white rice with chicken and teriyaki sauce, he fought to keep his willpower. However the voice of reason was being drowned out in a see of swirling emotions, stirred up by a hurricane of sadness. Soon he could no longer hear that commanding voice of calm, reasonable thought. Only desire remained as he reached for the bowel.

Every ounce of restraint having fled to darker corners, he took the bowel of teriyaki chicken and rice to the couch. After quickly devouring the bowels contents, he quickly walked back to the kitchen to retrieve yet another item of indulgence. A quart of Moose Tracks ice cream, Cara's favorite.

Tears were freely falling, as Tom cried tears of agony and loss. Each bite of the sweet frozen cream, its coarse textures and creamy chocolate, filling his senses. Each bite bringing with it a small reprieve from the pain in his heart.

He couldn't stop.

Their was nothing to be done now, he had reached the point of no return. The only thing now was to ride out the rapids, until they reached calmer waters.

XXX


	7. Chapter 7

The early morning air was mild, a gentle breeze was blowing across the landscape. Tom sat at a table, adjoining the Defense Tactics Academy's outdoor firearms range. As Tom sat there, disassembling his pistol and rifle, the sounds of numerous electric whines filled the air. Their brief crescendo was followed by the sound of metallic bullets, hitting their targets down range.

Removing the upper receiver from its perch on the the grip frame, Tom began disassembling his rifle. Removing the fire control group and bullet feed assembly, he sat them aside. Next to the rectangular power pack, which he had removed from the pistol grip. With push of a button, he removed the guns 3 piece barrel assembly.

" _God, my stomach hurts! That always happens after I cheat on my diet,"_ Tom thought to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pink pill. It was a multi symptom, stomach relief pill. Putting into his mouth, he took a sip of from his water bottle and swallowed it. He then got to work cleaning the barrel of his rifle.

He placed a small plastic coupler over the end of the barrel. He placed a soft cloth patch, lightly coated with dielectric grease, on to the carbon fiber cleaning rod.

Inserting the cleaning rod, into the coupler, Tom began gently cleaning the magnetic strips inside the barrel sleeve. Using a gentle rising and falling motion.

Tom's rifle, like his pistol and most other firearms, did not use cased or case-less ammunition. Instead, most weapons operated using magnetic coils to drive the projectile down the barrel. The barrel was actually three pieces. With a metallic inner core, inside it was four magnetic strips. They were used in place of the lands and groves found in traditional barrels designed for cased cartridges.

The bullet actually never to touched the magnetic strips, instead it floated in the barrel. Suspended by the magnetic strips. Electrical currents running through the strips, altered the magnetic field. Spinning the bullets. Outside the metal core, was a sheath, containing the magnetic drive coils, which ran the entire length of the barrel. The magnetic drive coils were responsible for driving the bullet down the barrel, as well as stripping new bullets into the feed assembly.

Their were many benefits to this system. Among them was the act of firing no longer required hearing protection. Due to no longer using loudly exploding gas to propel the bullet.

Using a special wrench, Tom removed the but-stock from his rife. Inside he found a large cylindrical tube. Inside this protective casing, were the electronics that governed the magnetic drive coils, and other electronics vital to its operation. Having removed the casing he inspected the computer and its connections. Satisfied that the computer and its various connections were free of dust and corrosion, he secured the casing.

Finishing his inspection of the computer, he removed the side plate from the receiver and pistol grip. Inside were the various wires and electronic circuits that regulated the power pack. After looking inside, he frowned at what he found inside.

"Christ! How long has it been since this has been cleaned out?" Tom said as he blew out a cloud of dust with his compressed air. "I'm going to have to check them myself, before I use them from now on," he said to himself. Satisfied he had removed all the dust from the delicate circuitry, he reinstalled the side plates.

Tom was so completely engrossed in the reassembly of his weapons, that he did not notice the figure walking up behind him.

As she approached the table, Tom's back was to her. Catherine could see that he was putting his guns back together, having just cleaned them. She smiled, as she noted how expertly he was going about his task.

No doubt, he had practiced maintaining his weapons thousands of times before.

Her equipment bag still slung over her shoulder, she moved silently up behind Tom.

Having finished reattaching the receiver to the grip frame, Tom inserted the power pack into the pistol grip. The LED counter, located at the top and rear of the receiver, lit up, showing 00 on the round counter.

Turning the rifle over, Tom checked the charge selection on the left side of rifle. The charge selector was flanked by a LED bar that indicated the current strength level. Setting it higher increased the power of the shot, but took more energy. Lower used less energy, but gave more shots per power pack. He saw that it was set for two clicks below the middle power setting, about normal for a military rifle. Satisfied, he did not change its selection, as this setting was a good mix of power and recoil manageability.

Just as he finished his final inspection of his firearms, a pair of fair colored arms, wrapped themselves around him from behind. Enveloping him in a gentle hug. He looked over his shoulder, and into the face of the red haired beauty that was embracing him.

"Hi, how are you?" Catherine asked, smiling softly. Her dainty hands softly massaging his chest.

"I'm alright, just making sure everything is ready for training today," he said as he sat his rifle down on the table.

"Good,"she said as she leaned down. Her lips capturing his in a tender kiss. "Give me a minute to get ready, and let's get some rounds down range," Catherine said as she unslung her rifle and accompanying gear bag. She took a seat across from Tom, she began readying her gear.

The hour seemed to move by quickly, as Tom and Catherine practiced. Standing on the range line, Tom looked over his pistol at the metallic target. Shaped like a human silhouette, it featured a series of numbered circles, layered on top of each other. Each numbered ring shrinking in size. With the ten ring being the smallest, and growing out from there.

Quickly, Tom slid a fresh magazine into the magazine well. He pressed the charge button, and a round entered the chamber. The LED indicator, on the left side of the gun, above and forward of the grip, showed twenty five rounds.

As he looked down the barrel, Tom lined up the red holographic dot with the center of the target. Taking a breath, Tom squeezed the trigger as he exhaled. The round impacted the edge of the 10 ring. Taking another breath, again he squeezed the trigger as he exhaled. This time the round hit flush inside the ten ring.

Tom repeated this process, until he had expended half his magazine. The previous 13 rounds centered in a tight group inside the nine and ten rings. The round counter now reading twelve, Tom flipped down his holographic sight, wanting to practice with his iron sights.

The iron sights on Toms gun were called Straight-Eight. It featured a single white dot, in the rear sight blade, and single dot in the front side blade. Aiming with them was fast and simple. One simply had to line up the dots vertically and they eye naturally aligned them horizontally, making them some of the fastest iron sights to be had on a pistol.

Tom repeated his previous exercise. Taking a breath and firing on exhalation. Having expended his rounds, Tom looked up at his target. Just like before they were neatly grouped in the center of the target. After inserting a fresh magazine, he holstered his pistol.

Stepping back from the firing line, Tom watched Catherine as she finished her last string of shots. He admired her precision with a firearm. The swiftness of her shots, only matched by the accuracy she displayed.

As she finished her last shot, she inserted a fresh magazine and holstered her pistol. Stepping back from the line, she glanced over to Tom.

"Looking good Cat! I think most of your shots are inside the ten ring," Tom said.

Looking over at his target, Catherine smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You did very well your self," she said studying Tom's target. "Looks like more then three quarters of the rounds are in the ten ring, with the rest just outside in the nine, over all fantastic shooting!" she said enthusiastically.

Gathering up their gear, they both walked to another firing bay.

This bay was an open expanse, walled on each side with large earthen berms. Scattered through out were numerous groupings of targets. This was the range for practicing against multiple targets.

After spending a few minutes laying out their gear, they got to work.

Catherine handed a shot timer to Tom, and stepped up to first line. Where a pair of targets were side by side about 10 feet away from her.

Shifting her feet, standing slightly bladed to the targets, Catherine settled into her weaver stance. Hands by her side, her pistol was holstered.

"Ready?" asked Tom, holding the shot timer high in the air. Catherine nodded her head. Tom pressed the button and a loud beep, was heard.

Catherine quickly drew her pistol and fired four shots. Two for each target in rapid succession. Her bullets quickly finding their mark in the center of each target. When she finished firing, the timer sounded.

"2.35 seconds, with .32 seconds split between shots," Tom said, as he showed her the timer. "Not bad, hope I don't embarrass my self, "he said, as he handed over the shot timer.

"Stop that, You'll do fine," she chided playfully, as she held the timer in the air.

Stepping to the line, Tom also took up the weaver stance.

"Ready?" Catherine asked. Tom nodded his head. With that, she pushed the button, and the loud beeping noise sounded.

Tom drew his pistol. As it was coming up, he thrust his hands forward, and into the primary firing position. Quickly finding the red dot of his holographic sight, he smoothly transitioned from target to target. Firing two rounds into each. As he finished the, timer sounded.

Stepping back from the line, Catherine showed him the shot timer. "Not bad Tom! You nearly matched my time. 2.45 seconds total time, with .34 split times. Just keep working on your draw, that will get those times down. Its your time to first shot that is slowing you down. Though four accurate shots in less then two and half seconds is still good," Catherine said.

They made their way through the various stations. Catherine lead the exercises. Often having Tom firing while moving. They practiced shooting from walking and running, to moving sideways using passing steps. The would fire from all positions, taking each station in turn. They went from lying on their stomachs in prone, to moving from knee to knee behind cover to engage targets. Sometimes even shooting off their backs and diving to cover, firing from various positions there.

Soon the class chime sounded, and it was the end of basic marksmanship.

After they packed up their gear, Catherine took hold of Toms hand. "Hey, I'll see you in class in a few hours. I have to go teach the first unarmed tactics class," she said. Giving Tom's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Good luck with that!" Tom said with a quick laugh. Catherine smiled as she began to walk away. Looking back at Tom she shook her head. A smile found its way to her lips.

"Thanks, I am going to need it!" she said with a laugh. "This would be much easier if they would just practice out side of class. Sadly 95% of them don't practice, save for what they do with me for an hour. I'm constantly having to reteach the basics," she said.

"Think of it as job security, You won't ever have to worry about not being needed!" Tom said teasingly. He grabbed his gear and headed for advanced marksmanship class.

"Ha Ha Ha Very funny!" she said with a smile. Stopping at a small intersection, the road divided in to several paths. With a quick wave goodbye, they went their separate ways.

XXX

Advanced marksmanship class, was very much like basic marksmanship, except with a rifle. Focusing on basic marksmanship first. They moved from station to station, doing various drills against multiple targets at random ranges. Many of the drills were similar to the ones Tom had just completed with Catherine. After solo practice, they would practice working with partners and as a part of a small unit. Going through a more complex training range, designed for group training scenarios.

What set this class apart was the shoot house. At the end of each class, they would do a mock raid on a simulated office building.

The class divided up into groups, with each group getting their turn. Here they would practice breaching doors, with battering rams and with explosive breaching charges. Proper use of various grenades, was also covered as part of the breaching instruction. With stun grenades being called for hostage situations and fragmentation grenades being used for everything else.

The tactics favored by the Special Attack Teams, was use of overwhelming force. When they moved in, they moved quickly. After breaching a door, the team would throw the pertinent grenade type in. Once detonated, they would rush in and anything standing would be riddled with fully automatic rifle fire.

They would move from room to room, clearing hostiles, and looking for their objective. When it came time to hit a room, they moved like lightning. Overwhelming the occupants with the speed and ferocity of their assault. Often tossing in a grenade, with no thought given to potential hostages. The only thing that mattered was the death of the hostiles, and the recovery of what ever objective had been laid out.

Saving hostages was only of tertiary importance. Tom always made sure not to hit innocents, but he was a extreme minority among the class's operators.

After having gone a few trips through the shoot house, the chime sounded. It was the end of class and time to move on to precision rifle.

XXX

The large crate sat undisturbed. It was still tucked in the back corner of the warehouse. Just behind the control panel, laid a large circuit board. To which was attached a small device with a LED read out. On it was long string of zeros. It was counting down time in hours. It had a reading of 33 hours remaining. Inside the dark main chamber, a large oval object was bathed in a soft blue light.

XXX

Tom looked up from the scope of his rifle, his annoyed gaze fixed on the target 100 yards away.

" _Christ! What the hell is going on?"_ he thought. As he looked through the spotting scope, he could see that all 10 of the bullets he fired were scattered about the target.

He had fired 2 groups of 5 shots, both groups having behaved the same way. Some of the rounds even appeared to have impacted the target sideways.

" _What the hell?"_ Tom thought, as he examined the target. _"Are the rounds key-holing?"_ He head cocked to the side, eyebrow raised in confusion.

" _Damn-it! I'm going to loose range time, fixing this!"_ he thought to himself.

After unloading his rifle, he switched the power off and removed the power pack. Once he had secured his rifle he signaled the range master.

"Whats the problem Maxton?" the range master said gruffly. He looked down range at Tom's target using a pair of digital binoculars.

"The rounds are key-holing all over the target. Permission to step off the line and fix it?" Tom asked the older man.

"I can see that, looks like a magnetic strip is out. Permission granted to go fix it," he said to Tom. "Get back here quickly, your hitting 500 yards today," he said sternly.

Tom stood up, his rifle in his hand, and gear bag slung over his shoulder. "Thanks sir, be right back," Tom said as he walked off line to a near by table.

Tom sat at the shooters preparation table, his rifle and gear laid out before him. After removing the upper receiver from the lower grip frame, Tom used a special wrench to remove the barrel assembly from the upper receiver.

Using his bore scope, it did not take long to see that one of the magnetic strips was almost completely worn out. He quickly detached the electrical connections to the magnetic strip assembly. Tom used a special pronged tool, popped out the defective strip, and replaced it with a new one.

After the quick repair, Tom signaled the range master, and returned to his prone position at the firing line. After he had made ready, Tom resumed his warm up on the 100 yard target.

A few minutes later, Tom looked through the scope of his rifle with renewed satisfaction. All 10 rounds had hit their mark in the center of the target. His grouping less then a quarter of an inch total for all 10 rounds fired.

"Now that is much better!" Tom said. The range master standing behind him, nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree, that is what I expect from you Tom," he said. Walking over to a panel a few feet from Tom, he pressed a button and a new target appeared further downrange.

"Ok, there is your 500 yard target. I want you to do this on the analog setting. If you can make this shot on analog, then using digital will feel like cheating," he said to Tom, his voice softening.

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Tom took the small ballistic computer off of the side of the digital scope. The square device, was sturdily built and black in color. It would sync up with the rifle and automatically adjust the reticle for range and weather conditions. It can also be detached and used as a portable sighting aid, in case the digital setting is unavailable. At which point it the scope converts to a more primitive analog setting. Complete with range and wind-age adjustment dials.

After consulting the small ballistic computer, Tom quickly adjusted the dials on the scope. After taking a quick breath and holding it, he released his breath. Tom began his slow string of fire. His range master watching over each shot silently.

After finishing his last shot, Tom removed the spent magazine and deactivated the charge to the barrel. "Confirm clear?" Tom said to the range master, as he stood up. He held out the rifle.

Taking the rifle from Tom's hands, the range master gave it a quick look over before handing it back.

"Confirmed clear. Great shooting Maxton!" he said, as he grabbed his binoculars, and began studying the target. "Look at that Tom, Inch and quarter at 500 yards. That is quarter Minute of Angle. Fantastic shooting!" he said. His voice sounding more jovial then normal.

"Thank you sir. Now I cant wait to try further ranges!" Tom said with barely contained excitement. Just then the chime sounded the end of class. Tom placed his rifle in its protective cloth bag.

"Good, next week you start with 600 yards. It's my goal to get you 1000 yard certified by the end of the year. Remember, its about more then just punching holes in paper. You have to be able to hit moving targets and start participating in simunition exercises. So from now on you will be doing more advanced drills, including moving targets. Soon, long range stationary targets will be your warm-up," the older man said as they walked to armorer.

"Looking forward to it sir. Though I am a little nervous about moving targets at range. They are hard enough at close range," Tom said as he handed his rifle to the armorer. Who quickly placed it in the arms locker, checking Tom's name off the list of people with checked out weapons.

Tom and the range master stood at the ranges exit. He shook Tom's hand. "Don't worry about it. Once you figure out how to lead the target, it gets easier. You will get plenty of trigger time. Besides you're better then you think. You'll get it quick. " he said, giving Tom a pat on shoulder

"Alright, thank you sir. I'll see you next week then," Tom said with a nod of his head.

"Later, Maxton," the range master said as he headed off back to the range.

After adjusting his gear bag on his shoulder, Tom ran his fingers through his hair, and began walking towards his next class. Melee weapons instruction.

"Great! Now its going to get exponentially harder," Tom said as he let out a sigh. "Heh. No one said shooting targets at more then a quarter mile would be easy!" He said with a laugh.

As he walked down the path to the next class, Tom's mind began to wander. He fantasized about the day when he can hit moving targets at any range.

The very thought of it pushed aside any nervousness he felt. Replaced with a new sense of excitement. He had finally reached the point were he could take his training to the next level. The level he has dreamed about for years. Long range marksmanship mastery.

Tom could not stop the smile that invaded his face. Nor did he want to, as he continued his march towards melee weapons class. For today was a good day, and he knew tonight would be great as well.

XXXX

Tom stood in the lobby, waiting patiently. His arms folded across his chest, and his gear bag on his shoulder. He had finished his last defensive tactics class and was waiting for Catherine. Who was running a bit late. Her last class not yet finished.

" _This last class, must have been all rank newbies. Probably had to teach them basics. Again,"_ he mused to himself. Feeling restless, Tom strolled around the lobby.

As Tom walked about the lobby, he stopped by a wall that was stationed in the center of the lobby. On it was numerous holographic pictures of the various trainers past and present. Tom only recognized a few of the faces, Catherine's being one of them. The rest were all before his time at the academy.

As Tom studied the pictures, he noticed that Catherine was the only female trainer the academy has had in its history, and its youngest instructor. The fiery red head stood out among the gruff looking older males that otherwise dominated the memorial. A testament to her skill as a martial artist and fierce determination to succeed.

Tom smiled as he looked at the hologram of Catherine. She had changed very little since that picture was taken 5 years ago. She was still as gorgeous now as she was then. The one stark difference was that, in this hologram, she had very short layered hair. So short in fact it ended just above her ears.

" _Wow! She almost looks like a different person! Boy am I glad she grew it out,"_ he thought to himself. Smiling as he remembered the first time he got to run his fingers through her fine red locks. They were so soft and inviting, he couldn't get enough of them.

As Tom stood there looking at the pictures, he heard Catherine call out to him from across the room.

"Hey Tom, thanks for waiting for me! Sorry I was late. More people not even vaguely familiar with melee combat. So I had to reteach the basics, again," she said with a sigh. She gave Tom a gentle squeeze as she draped her arm over his broad shoulders. She frowned slightly at the holographic picture of herself.

"I hate that picture, I look like a boy!" she said. "I wish they would change it for a recent one."

Tom looked over at her, and smiled. He leaned down, and kissed her head.

"I wouldn't say you looked like a boy. Just different," he said. A playful smile found its way to his face. Catherine turned and looked at him with a gasp. Playfully she smacked his arm, her expression one of faux shock and indignation.

"Ah sorry!" Tom said with a laugh, wrapping her in a soft hug.

"Uh huh, sure you are," she said with a smile. She took a hold of his hand and they walked outside to their cars.

"So, were do you want to go?" Tom asked her. He opened her door and helped her into her driver seat. He flipped through the apps on his watch and found vehicle control, and turned on his own vehicle.

"I know this place on the south side that serves Central American food. _Fiesta Ranchero_. Want to try it?" She asked.

"Isn't that place run by the Calibiri gang?" he asked.

"Ya, but mostly the older ladies run it. Best chicken salad in the city! Besides, they are good people. Not everyone in the gangs are bad" she said. She pressed her thumb to the display, and turned on her car.

"Ok, sure. I have not been their since Cara last negotiated with them," he said. He briefly thought back to that time, right before her drug habit started and things fell apart. It was among the last good memories of her he had.

"Ok then. I'll meet you there. They are usually busy, so we will have to park a few blocks away. I will meet you at the South side parking garage. It's not far from them, maybe 4 blocks," she said. She laid her purse on the seat next to her.

"Right on, I will meet you there," he said. He leaned in side and gave her a quick kiss. "See ya in a little bit," she said as Tom shut her door.

Tom sat down in his car, and programmed in the location of the parking garage. A minute later, they both took off down the street.

XXX

The drive from the Defensive Tactics Academy was made longer due to the congested highways. Tom could not figure out why there was so much congestion and chaos at the border to South District. Traffic was moving very slowly, and street level parking was no where to be found.

As Tom pulled up, he saw that Catherine was already waiting for him. She pressed a button on the parking garages control screen, and a elevator moved up one level and over 15 spaces. When the door opened, it revealed a space just big enough for his car to fit.

Tom got out of his car and began swiping through apps on his watch. A few quick taps later, Tom gave the command for his car to self park. The car slowly drove forward, into the space. Once it had stopped, it automatically shut down.

Tom turned to Catherine and smiled. "Thanks for saving me a parking space. Not sure what is going on, but traffic is a mess," he said.

Tom pressed his thumb to the control screen, and with a chirp the screen confirmed the withdraw of credits from his account. The elevator shut the door and moved his car down into the garage.

Taking a hold of Tom's hand, she turned and faced him. "No problem! After I pulled in, a couple of guys tried to take the last spot, but I flashed my badge and solved that issue," she said with a confidant smirk.

"Boy that badge comes in handy!" Tom said shaking his head, laughing softly.

"You know It! Solves a heck of a lot of problems. Traffic? No problem, just hit the lights. Need to get into a club? Just flash the badge!" she said, thumbing her badge between her fingers. They both laughed to themselves as they walked down the quiet streets.

After walking 10 minutes in silence, they rounded a corner just a block from _Fiesta Ranchero._ Catherine stopped dead in her tracks, she touched Tom's chest and stopped him. Before them was hundreds of men, clad in black swat style armor and automatic rifles. They had the road cordoned off, black vans blocking road.

They men were kicking down the doors of the homes situated along the streets, and were lining up the occupants on the street. They were separated into two groups. Mothers and children on side of the street, and single women and the men were on the other side.

"What is going on? Is it a Special Attack Team raid?" Tom said, his brow furrowed. He watched in shock as the black clad men continued their door breaching operations and rounded up the local Latinos. The loud boom of a flash bang grenade being detonated could be heard, as yet another large home was raided. Its residents marched out into the street, hands bound with zip ties.

"No, its the Punishers. They work for Cerelon, punishing those that anger him or violate their agreements with him. Looks like they are rounding up the entire Calibri gang," she said as they continued to watch the proceedings.

"I wonder what the hell they did wrong?" Tom said. Just then, a pair of Punishers approached Tom and Catherine. Their weapons hung down at their sides.

"Let me do the talking," she said giving his hand a squeeze before letting it go.

"This area is off limits, show me your I.D right now!" the masked man said.

Catherine took her badge off her belt, and showed it to them. "Sergeant Jamesine, Peace Enforcement. This is Thomas Maxton. Security at Mr. Cerelon's warehouse number 7,"she said flatly.

The lead punisher took the badge and examined it, before handing it back.

"Eh sorry for the rude welcome, Sergeant. However this area is secure and off limits," he said.

"Well, we were on our way to _Fiesta Ranchero_ for dinner, I assume that is off limits as well?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am. There won't be a _Fiesta Ranchero_ after tonight. They pissed off the boss one to many times," he said sternly. He turned and faced the group of officers up the street.

"What did they do to warrant the Punisher Division coming out in force?" she asked as she again took hold of Tom's hand.

"Like I said, they pissed off the boss. Look, they are a small gang, barely 150 members strong. Yet they have been making demands to the trade enforcers that only large gangs can get. Cuts in Mr. Cerelon's take, and what they are allowed to sell. Things of that nature. They have been steadfastly refusing his rather generous offers. So he decided to make a lesson out of them," he said.

Just then, Tom heard a loud, commanding voice approach the large group of Calibri standing in the street. Tom looked on, as Catherine continued her conversation with the two Punisher officers.

"You are hereby charged with failure to follow the laws. Failure to negotiate on good faith with Mr. Cerelon, and failure to meet your obligations to him," the man shouted. The large, decorated officer, turned to the gathered group of Punishers.

"Men, take your positions!" he said. Without a question the officers all marched up behind the first group of Calibri gang. They stood between the two rows, facing the men and females. The commander then turned and faced the Calibri.

"Mr. Cerelon, has shown you great patience, and you have spat on his good will. For that, your punishment is death. As hereby decreed by Mr. Cerelon," he shouted.

Catherine, having just finished her conversation with the two Punishers, turned and faced Tom. "Hey we need to leave right now. They are insisting. Saying I have no jurisdiction in this matter," Catherine said.

Catherine turned and pulled Tom with her, but not before he witnessed what happened next.

"Ready! Aim! Fire!" the commanding officer said. Without a word,the officers opened fire. Tom could hear the bodies falling to the ground, over the anguished wails and screams of the gathered mothers and children, who were fruitlessly begging for the lives of their fathers and husbands.

They said nothing to each other, as they walked silently up the street to the parking garage. Tom's arm still held in Catherine's firm grip.

As they unpacked their cars, Catherine turned to Tom. "I'll meet you at your place ok. I have to go pick up some things first," she said.

"Ok, I'll see you when you get there. I will just make you dinner," Tom said, as he helped her in the car and shut her door. Tom sat in his own car. Shook his head and sighed.

Without another word, Catherine drove off, with Tom leaving a moment later.

XXX

Later that evening, Donald Cerelon smiled to himself as he walked down the brightly lit corridors of warehouse 7. Having just finished overseeing the impromptu feeding at enclosure #3, he decided to check on his other project. He walked passed crowds of construction workers, on their way out for the night. They had been busy the last few weeks. They were converting the entire second floor into one single, massive enclosure.

As approached the back of the warehouse, he spotted his latest acquisition, a certain stasis crate. Acquired from Dr. Rienhardt. He didn't know, but inside of the stasis crate, was a device. The hour counter on the device attached to the control circuit was still busy counting down. The read out said that 17 hours remaining. He smirked, excitement building in his chest. Inside, was the thing that would make him a legend among the fighting circuit. He stopped in front of the crate, just inches away. He ran his palms over the top of it, taking a deep breath and released it. As he did, a starwolf handler walked up to him.

"Do you smell that?" Cerelon asked the man, as he took another deep breath and let it out in one long sigh.

The thick young brunette looked at him confused. "No sir, I don't smell anything," he said sheepishly. Obviously intimidated by his employer, he fidgeted with his hands.

Cerelon turned to look at him. "Well I do, and that is the smell of victory! Victory over my opponents, and eventually, victory over the Rigini!" he said. His voice raised. The sudden outburst caused several of the starwolves, in near by pens, to perk their ears up.

The young man snapped to attention, his eyes fixed on the face of Cerelon. "Sir, would you like the bones to remain in the enclosure, or shall we remove them?" he asked.

Cerelon laughed a deep belly laugh, a wicked smile on his face. " Leave them. They will make a good chew toy for them. Besides, they like the taste of raw bones," he said with a chuckle.

"Yes sir!" the handler said. They both turned and walked towards the front of the warehouse and its exit.


	8. Chapter 8

That night, they were relaxing on Tom's couch. Catherine laid against Tom's broad chest. It had been several hours since the incident in the South side of the city. They ate a very light dinner; some salad with chicken on top, as neither of them were in a mood to eat much. They were watching classical movies. Having started with "Top Gun", they watched the entire "Lord of the Rings" series.

As the next movie started, "Sherlock Holmes",Tom felt Catherine shift. He looked down, and saw that she was fast asleep. He smiled softly, as he ran his fingers through her hair. She felt so perfect, lying there against him.

He carefully picked Catherine up, and turned off the movie. He gently carried her to his bedroom and laid her down and covered her up. Tom put a pair of sweat pants on, and slid into bed next to her. With out a word, she slid next to him, his arm cradling her head. It wasn't long before they fell asleep in each others arm.

XXX

Tom woke up to an empty bed. He looked around confused. He remembered carrying Catherine to bed last night. Just as he sat up, Catherine came out of his bathroom, wearing some red sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Her hair was nicely combed and tied back into a pony tail. As silent as a cat, she slid back into his bed.

"Good afternoon," she said with a smile. She rested her head on his shoulder. Her hand gently massaging his chest.

"Hey! Good afternoon. I thought you left?" Tom asked.

"Nope, just changing into something more comfortable," she said. She shifted her position, so that she was now facing Tom, his fingers trailing through her hair.

Tom smiled, as they snuggled in the black satin sheets. He had never imagined that he would wake up with Catherine in his arms. Her skin was so soft and warm, inviting Tom to caress it. Like two puzzle pieces, they fit perfectly together. Even more so, then Cara.

Catherine sat up, leaning on Tom's chest. She ran her fingers through his dirty blonde hair. She leaned down, her face hovering over his, their gaze meeting. She pressed her lips against his in a tender kiss. He wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her close to him. She enfolded her arms around the back of his head, as they deepened their passionate kissing.

He ran his fingers through her deep red locks, his hand gently caressing her soft back. He ran his fingers down to the supple skin of the small of her back. He brought his hands back up to her head, gently pushing it to the side, giving him access to the sensitive skin on her neck. She gasped as Tom kissed his way down her neck to the base of her shoulders, sending a shiver down her spine. Catherine swung her legs over his chest, recapturing his lips with her own. His hands slid down her sides, gently caressing and massaging her cream colored skin, before finding their way to her shapely hips.

They were panting as their lips parted. She laid her head down on his chest, sighing contently. His hands slowly caressed their way up her back, coming to rest just below her shoulders.

Catherine liked how slow Tom had taken this. There was no pressure to perform, or to push the boundaries of this fledgling relationship. He seemed content to let her lead the pace of this dance of tongues. He had been a perfect gentleman, a welcome reprieve from the guys that normally courted her.

They laid there not moving for hours, resting peacefully. Silently they enjoyed the comforting warmth of each others bodies.

XXX

Tom was up to his elbows in soap suds. After having a nice, hearty dinner; baked chicken breasts with asparagus, and homemade hollandaise sauce , they were doing the dishes. Normally he would have put them in the dishwasher, but Catherine simply started washing them by hand. So he joined her.

As Tom scrubbed a dinner plate, he felt Catherine playfully bump her hip into him. He looked over with a chuckle and bumped her hip with his. She finished rinsing the baking pan, and reached into the sink. She pulled out a handful of soap suds and pasted them right on Toms nose with a giggle. Not to be outdone, Tom took a handful of suds and painted a beard and goofy mustache on her face, as they both laughed hysterically.

Tom resumed his careful cleaning of the last of the dishes, Catherine looked at him quizzically. "You know, I was looking through your fridge and freezer. You have a lot of chicken breasts. Why?" she asked.

Tom finished washing, and helped Catherine in drying the dishes and putting them away. He looked over at her. "I don't know, I love breasts," he said, eliciting a laugh from Catherine.

"I know you like breasts! I catch you staring at mine!"she said between bouts of raucous laughter. Tom's face turned a bright shade of red, realizing he walked right into that joke all on his own.

Tom ran his fingers through his hair, clearing his throat to try and contain the sudden bashfulness that overtook him. "I umm.. that's not what I meant.. umm," he said, stumbling over his words. Catherine's laughter only got louder as he fumbled for an explanation.

She turned Tom around, facing her. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a soft hug. "Oh come on now! You've been checking me out for months! Especially when I am doing speed drills on the heavy bag!" she said, a sly smile on her face. "Why do you think I stopped wearing loose cotton shirts and started wearing tight compression shirts! Catching you staring at me outside the club a few weeks ago, was not the first time I have caught you!" she said.

Tom's mouth was agape, breathless with shock. He had been caught red handed. "I didn't know you saw me!" he said taking a breath. "Damn! Here I thought I was being sly!" he said. The red shade of his face deepening.

She giggled at his admission. She smiled as she pulled him down into a soft kiss. "It's ok Tommy. If I didn't want you to look, I would've said something along time ago!"

Tom had one arm wrapped around her small waist, gently stroking her hair with the other. Catherine's hands were gently caressing his back, trailing up and down. Softly her right hand traveled every so carefully lower, giving Tom's bottom a firm squeeze. Tom's eyes got wide with surprise.

"Besides, I cast a few glances your way as well. I have been watching you since you first joined us," she said, leading him to his plush couch. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her stomach.

He tilted his head, eyebrow arched. "What do you mean, you have been watching me from the beginning?" he asked. She turned her head back, and looked up at him.

"I have to admit, I was not sure you would stick around. I mean, you were a big guy, and I was sure you didn't have the motivation, the drive to do it. Alec was unsure as well. So he had me work with you that first month," she said, shifting her body so that her head was laying in his lap, looking up at him.

"He told me to push you to the edge. To the very limit of your body, and then beyond it. He wanted to see if you would crack and never come back, or tough it out and change your life. You proved us wrong and look at what became of it! You don't even look like the same man who walked in the doors two years ago! You look great! I used to get so excited at the weekly weigh ins, to see how much you had lost that week," she said, lifting her hand up to his face. Gently caressing his cheek.

Tom rolled his eyes, he didn't look any different. Not to his eyes. He still saw him self as a blob. He thought it a joke, that she would say that he has changed drastically. If he had made such notable improvements in his physique, why does his image in the mirror still haunt him?

"What are you talking about? Look great? I'm junk yard dog ugly! I look like the damn Weyland-Yutani blimp!" he said with annoyance as he slapped his stomach.

Catherine was not pleased with that comment. She narrowed her eyes, her displeasure visible across her face. She pulled Tom's face down to hers, and looked him straight in the eyes. "First. I never want to hear you say that again! Have some confidence in yourself," she snapped at him. "Secondly, I saw you're last body mass index scan. When you joined us, you were at 48% body fat, now your at 20% body fat. Those scanners are 99.99% accurate. So you see, It's no joke. I have proof you look good. Get any leaner and you'll rival Alec," she said, her voice softening.

She turned around on the sofa, and wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck. She pulled him down, so that he was above her. His weight supported by his elbows. Gently, she stroked the side of his face. "You need to stop hating yourself: have some confidence, you earned it. I know Cara went along way to destroying your self image, but you have to trust me when I say that she was sorely mistaken," she said. She softly pulled his head down, and brushed his lips with her own.

Tom lowered himself on his forearms, and deepened the kiss, as Catherine's hands were caressing his back. Her hand again, traveled downward, finding purchase on his rump. She so desired for him to touch her, but she knew that it was to early for that. She again found herself grateful for his restraint.

As the hour ticked by, they sat up from their spot on the couch. It was getting late now, and in a few hours their duty shifts would begin anew. They both got up from the couch, Catherine grabbed her bag.

"Mind if I take a shower and get ready for my shift?" she asked.

"Sure thing. Towels are on the rack next to the shower. I'll take mine when your done," he said. He walked her down the hall and turned on the bathroom light for her.

"Thanks Tom," she said, as he closed the bathroom door. It was not soon after that the sound of the shower running, and the familiar scent of Cara's floral soaps found their way out of the steamy bathroom.

Soon they had both showered, and Tom was getting his uniform on. Catherine was already dressed in her dark blue peace enforcement uniform. The dark colors combined with the thick body armor and duty belt full of gear, completely changed her look. She looked like she belonged on the front lines of a military incursion, not patrolling the mean streets of Goran city.

By comparison, Toms concealed body armor, made of woven carbon nano-tubes, was barely noticable underneath his gray uniform. His duty belt had far fewer gadgets attached to it, as he only had to deal with sleeping animals, not belligerent drug users. He had his pistol and magazines, his 12" spear pointed dagger, some pepper spray, and small tactical light.

Tom sat on a stool by the door to his apartment, tying the laces of his steel lined combat boots. "So where are you patrolling tonight?" he asked Catherine. Who was busy also lacing up her own boots.

"West side tonight. So I'll be close by. So if you hit the lock down, I'll be the first to respond. If its a quiet night, I'll stop by on my break," she said as she finished lacing her boots. She stood up, her gear bag on her shoulders, and her red hair tied into a pony tail.

"Cool, I hope its a quiet night. Would be nice to spend a few minutes with another human. That place can be so damn boring. Everything is sleeping," he said, as they opened the door to his apartment and stepped out. The door locking behind them.

"Talk to you later," Catherine said, as she gave Tom a quick kiss before entering her car.

"Cya Cat. Stay safe out there tonight," he said as he stepped back from her car, and turned on his own, through the apps on his watch.

"Thanks," she said. With a wave goodbye, her car silently pulled away and began her patrol.

Getting in to his own vehicle, Tom soon departed for work.

XXX

Tom walked casually towards the entrance to warehouse 7. The night air was cool and comfortable. A light breeze was blowing, ruffling his hair, and refreshing him at the same time. The nocturnal sky was clear, the stars shining in all their brilliance.

As he entered the building, he noticed the star wolves, in the closest pen. Situated straight ahead of the entrance. They were taking drinks from the small simulated streams of water that ran down the far end of their enclosures. The large alpha male, taking the first drink, before being joined by his dominant female. With the subordinate female and the pups following suite. It wasn't long before they slowly filed their way to the back of the artificial cave.

One by one, they laid down, in the back. The alpha male first, followed by the dominant female and her pups, with subordinate female laying down last. The pups were in a pile in the middle of the pack, with the adults laying in a circle around them.

After watching the wolves finish their nightly rituals, he turned to the right and walked up the wide isle way. The security office was located at the far right corner of the building, at the end of long isle of supply crates.

As he neared the office, Officer Jackson walked out to greet him. He was a tall young man of thin build, and slick back black hair. "Maxton! How are you feeling? Its good to see you back!" he said. He extended his hand towards Tom, and offered a handshake.

Tom smiled back at the lanky young man, as he approached, gripping his hand in a firm handshake. After the warm greeting they both entered the security office. Tom walked up to the security terminal, and logged him self into work.

Jackson sat down in the security chair, and began typing into the console. "Hey! You want to see something cool?" he asked in a low voice, half smirking at the screen.

"Sure, what it is?" Tom asked, tilting his head at what Jackson was bringing up on the screen. It was a previously recorded video of Starwolf Enclosure Number 3. A large older man, with mocha skin was being dragged in by his hair. His arms and legs were bound in thin plastic zip ties. The guards were accompanied by Mr. Cerelon, whom stood off to the back. When they reached the entrance to the enclosure, the wolves were agitated and pacing around the pen.

Jackson turned in his chair and looked at Tom. "The Punishers came by earlier today. They had the leader of the Calibri gang! Mr. Cerelon said he was giving a gift to his beloved wolves, before feeding him to them," he said as he continued watching the video.

With out warning, the lead guard opened the pen doors, and they both tossed him in. He landed in the middle of the enclosure with a thud, blood pouring from wounds all over his body. His face was badly beaten, both eyes swollen black and blue, his lips were split open, several teeth missing from his mouth.

A minute later, the alpha male sauntered up to the helpless Calibri leader. With one bite of his powerful jaws, the beast nearly bit the mans neck in half. The sound of vertebrae cracking could be heard. Blood and gore spilled out in spurts as his body twitched wildly before settling into its death pose. Soon, the whole pack joined in, tearing the body apart and devouring the remains.

Tom stood there in silence. He brought his hand to his chin, and stroked it gently. He was disgusted by what he saw, but knew enough not to say so. Cerelon did not tolerate possible dissension in the ranks. Any hint of disagreement with his policies, was met with harsh consequences. Tom was no fool. He knew when to keep his mouth quiet, for he did not want to end up like the Calibri.

"Poor bastard, to bad they didn't shoot him first," Tom said flatly. Jackson turned off the video, and signed out of his shift.

"Well, Cerelon said he didn't want the wolves to ingest any of the bullets, and that a live meal is more nutritious. So they put him in alive," he said. His voice showing no signs of being disturbed by what took place. He turned off the video, and started his second shift briefing for the third shift change over.

They talked about the happenings of the previous shifts. Reports of moved animals, and possible security concerns. Other wise normal concerns that happen as the day flows by.

XXX

Elsewhere, in the back corner of the warehouse, sat the unmarked stasis crate. Behind the grey diagnostics panel, was a small device. It was attached by several wires to the main circuit board. Upon it was a small LED display that read a long string of zero's and the number 10. It quickly counted down the remaining seconds. Arcs of electricity went through the circuit panel, overloading it. Soon the entire stasis crate shut down, the lid opened automatically.

Inside, was a large ovoid object with a dark, leathery texture. It looked ancient, older then humanity itself. Parts of it were calcified, other larger areas were stiff, like hardened leather. It was covered in a thick layer of dark gray dust and dirt. Soon the egg shaped object slowly pulsed with life. Streams of clear viscous liquid began to spill from the top, streaming down its sides. It turned the thick layer of dirt into mud, which started running towards the floor.

XXX

It had been an hour since the change over briefing. Tom was standing in front of the rifle locker, trying to decide which one to patrol with. He decided on the MCR-178, a copy of the rifle he used at the range earlier in the weekend. The rifle was gray in color, with a 20 inch long barrel. The receiver was rectangular, and slightly rounded on the ends. The hand guards featured a line of accessory rails, upon which he placed a bright tactical light. The rifle featured a 60 round detachable magazine, and multi adjustable holographic sights.

After grabbing the rifle of the shelf, he loaded a magazine and charged the barrel. He then grabbed a spare twin magazine pouch, and stuck it to the magnetic points on his belt. He closed and locked the rifle locker.

He smiled to himself as he held the rifle. "I love this rifle. It's nearly identical to my own," he said to him self, mentally comparing the rifle in his hands, to the rifle he personally owns. He walked over to the security console and grabbed the lock down device, and placed it on his belt.

Tom gave a quick check of his gear, and left the security office.

He walked slowly down the corridor, his rifle in his hands, barrel pointed towards the floor. As he walked, he slowly scanned the pens and surrounding crates. Looking for damage to the pens, and any signs of theft or damage to the supply crates.

Continuing this slow march down the wide isles, he kept his head on a swivel. Scanning left and right for anything out of place, while he walked.

After some 15 minutes he was now close to starwolf enclosure number 6, which was towards the back right. After carefully inspecting the pen, the wolves inside fast asleep, Tom stepped into the open area just beyond. There were a few doors located along the wall. Each of them closed and locked.

As Tom moved along the wall, inspecting the locked rooms, he looked off in the distance. There, along the wall, sat the newest crate to arrive. The one he was told to inspect every hour, personally, by Mr. Cerelon. He felt a knot in his throat, his pulse quickening at the sight before him.

The lid to the crate was open.

Tom ran up to the crate, and checked the control panel. He noticed it was turned off, and he could not reactivate it. "SHIT! When did this happen? Jackson said it was secure just an hour ago!" Tom said.

Tom warily peered over the center of the crate. His rifle pointed to the floor. "What the hell is this?" he asked. He stared at the strange, egg shaped object inside. It was half as tall as he was, and nearly as wide. It was dark green, though parts of it were white and calcified, and it was covered in a layer of thick mud. The top of it was opened like the petals of a flower.

Taking a closer look at the insides, Tom leaned lower over the center. The inside of the strange leathery oval, was white, it had the appearance of stomach tripe. It was covered in long strings of clear colored, viscous liquid.

Tom stepped back from the crate. He looked down, and saw a small, slimy trail leading away from the crate. It lead a few meters away, leaving a strange, zigzag trail on the floor. It seemed like it was mimicking a drunk's movement, before disappearing. Tom shook his head, his brow furrowed. "Just great! Something got out," Tom said as he looked at the small slime trail. "At least it is small. Maybe I should try and catch it, and put it in a cage," he said.

He walked slowly towards the central isle, carefully scanning for the unknown missing creature. His rifle was shouldered, the barrel pointed forward and slightly down. The high ready position. Their was a sudden commotion, in enclosure 5. The Starwolves were barking and howling wildly. Tom stopped in his tracks and stared at the wolves' enclosure.

The wolves' were backed into a corner. The alpha male was standing in front of the frightened, huddled mass of females and pups. His teeth and large tusks bared, he was crouched down in a aggressive posture, snarling loudly. They seemed to be afraid of something at the main entrance to their pen. Tom walked forward slowly, step by step. His eyes peeled, head on a swivel, looking for his quarry.

Tom rounded the corner to the enclosure and saw the large sliding metal door. To the right of the door, just a few inches from the ballistic glass wall, was a large metallic table. It was used to prepare food and various medications for the star wolves. Tom walked up to door cautiously. He checked it, and found that it was still secure. Tom stepped back from the door, and turned around. He was going to check the other pens for any signs of his missing creature. He didn't know what he was looking for. Only that it was small and slimy, and not a star wolf. As he took a step forward, he heard a rustling sound coming from the table.

Turning back around, Tom cautiously walked towards the table. He walked up to the edge of the table, and saw nothing on it. His heart started pounding as he heard the rustling sound again, this time, it was underneath the table. He crouched down, his rifle pointed forward, and peered under the table.

He looked over the holographic sight of his rifle, and saw only a over turned trash basket. He pushed the barrel of his rifle forward,and used it to turn the basket around slowly. As he turned the basket around, his heart was pounding. He swore he saw something yellow that moved. Soon, he had the basket turned around fully, and sighed a sigh of relief. The yellow object was merely a yellow paper wrapper. He stood up and straightened his uniform.

As he turned around, facing pen 3, he heard a strange metallic tapping noise. He turned to see what the cause of the noise was. Tom turned around, just in time to see what looked like a beige colored, skeletal hand flying through the air and smack into his face. The impact drove him backwards. He stumbled and fell, his back hitting a large crate, he fell on his butt, his back against the crate.

The spider like creature wrapped its long, clawed fingers around his head, its tail was snaking around his neck. Tom was finding it harder and harder to breath, as the creature tightened its grip on his neck. Cutting off circulation in both Carotid arteries. He tried to pry the tail off of his neck, but the creatures grip was like iron. He could see the edges of his vision turning black, his arms felt like they were filled with lead. He was barely able to move them. He frantically felt his belt for the lock down device, his strength fading quickly. He had only seconds of consciousness left when he found lock down controller.

With the last vestiges of his strength, his mind barely able to focus, he pressed the black button on the lock down controller. The last thing he heard, was the sounds of metal shutters flying down, as doors were sealed off. He lost consciousness seconds later.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a quiet night. Catherine was diving in her patrol car, slowly up and down the busy streets. She was in the manufacturing district, which took up half of West side. True to its name, its properties were dominated by numerous production facilities, some small, but many large ones were located there as well.

She watched as workers would file out of the many warehouses and factories for their breaks. A few times, she had to stop and take away the marijuana that some had been smoking on their break. Smoking Marijuana was not illegal, but doing so on the job was. So instead of taking them to jail, she simply confiscated the drug.

It was cheap and plentiful on Galaron V. The workers were grateful to her, as she could easily haul them to jail. Which would ruin their lives, and cost a fortune. So loosing a few dollars of weed, was a acceptable loss. Catherine had a reputation for fairness and discretion. She was more concerned with major crimes, like breaking and entering, home invasion, and interpersonal violence.

As she drove, she looked at her clock, it was nearly 1 am. _"Guess I should head over to the residential area and make sure it's quiet too,"_ she thought to herself. She turned down a series of side streets, and made the short drive over to West side residential district.

Catherine smiled to herself as she drove through the various apartment complexes. _"I'm close to Tom's apartment. It's just a few complexes over,"_ she thought to herself. Her mind wandered, as she patrolled the still apartment complexes. She thought back to the night she spent with Tom. How softly he had treated her, how right it felt to sleep in his arms all night long. How warm his body felt against hers, the taste of of his oh so plump and kissable lips against her own.

She was brought out of her reverie by a shrill chime that sounded from her cars dashboard computer. It was a automated alert from the Central Dispatch computer.

"Alert. Security lock down initiated at Cerelon Family Warehouse Number 7. Please proceed there immediately and investigate," said the low feminine voice of the computer.

Immediately, she felt her chest tighten, and her pulse quicken slightly. "Tom," she said to herself quietly. She allowed a brief flash of nervousness to enter her mind, as she quickly entered the contact number for his computer watch. After it rang for a minute, her computer notified her that their was no response. The anxiety slowly built up as she repeatedly tried his number. Each time it failed to connect, she would get even more tense. She activated her red and blue Peace Enforcement lights and did a U turn, and quickly headed for his warehouse.

Just then, a call came through her computer. It was John Dillton, third shift Captain of Peace Enforcement. "Sergeant, have you tried contacting the guard?" he said. The Captain was a older male, featuring brown hair and a square face which he wore a serious expression.

Catherine glanced down at his face briefly before she answered, her eyes focused on the road. "Yes sir. I was unable to reach him. I tried several times, but got no answer," she said, her voice slightly higher then normal.

"Ok, I am on route now, along with back up. You will arrive first, so wait for us and we will enter together," he said sternly.

"Yes sir, I'll wait by the primary entrance to the warehouse, just inside the gates. I should be there in 10 minutes," she said as she pressed the accelerator pedal lower. The vehicle lurched forward as it picked up speed.

"Roger that Sergeant. Captain Dillton out," he said as he ended the call.

Catherine paced back and forth beside her parked patrol car. _"What the hell is taking Diillton so long?"_ she thought. The serious expression she had been wearing, was now replaced by annoyance. She double checked the status of her rifle. It was in the bull-pup configuration. With the action and magazine near the back of the stock, it made the entire rifle shorter and more compact. It was perfect for petite female users.

She glanced over her shoulder, and just a few parking spaces away was Tom's car, parked towards the right of the main entrance to the building. She turned and walked up towards the large double doors leading inside. In front of them, was a thick steel shutter. It had slid down when Tom hit the lock down, covering the doors. She pressed her ears to the steel shutter. She listened for any sounds coming through, but heard none. She stepped back, and resumed her pacing by the entrance.

Soon, 5 more patrol cars pulled in. Filling the available spots near her car. They all filed out of their cars, and made their way to the large double doors. Catherine was greeted by Captain Dillton, who was leading the group.

"Ok, Listen up. I'm only going to say this once. We don't know what's going on in there, so take your time and stay with the group. I spoke to Cerelon on the way here. We are free to shoot anything that threatens us, however he would prefer we keep the Starwolf casualties to a minimum. So on that note, I have procured a tranquilizer gun from the armory in Central," he said. He motioned with his hand, and all the officers pressed against the walls on either side of the doors, Catherine was leading the left side.

Captain Dillton was leading the right side. He pressed his thumb to the bio-metric scanner. After confirming his ID, a small security pad unfolded from the wall. He went through the apps till he found the one for disengaging the lock down. "I am disengaging the lock down in 3-2-1, now," he said as he pressed the final button. With the sound of a electric motor whining to life and a faint metallic screech, the metal shutter slid up into the wall.

Catherine had her rifle shouldered, the barrel pointing down slightly, as her and Dillton's groups moved through the doors, in 2 single file lines.

Catherine noticed as they moved past the first Starwolf pen, that they were still asleep in their enclosure. Everything was quiet as they moved up the isle towards the guard office. After seeing no one inside, the groups turned left and began marching down the long isle on the right side of the building. Slowly they marched, in 2 lines, one on each side of the isle. They flashed their weapon lights in to the shadows and corners, around box's and crates in search of Tom.

"Sergeant, do you see anything on your side?" Dillton asked, looking over at Catherine.

"No sir. I don't understand why he hit the lock down. Everything's asleep," she said as she passed in front of Starwolf Enclosure Number 6.

"Keep your eyes open everyone. The fact we haven't run into him yet says something is up. Stay close together," he said. He held up his fist, and the two lines came to a halt. They had approached a open area just past the first isle. At the end were several locked doors and to left was the entrance to the central isle.

Captain Dillton noticed the open crate. "We're going to check that out. MOVE," he commanded. He pointed his hand at the open crate and both lines marched to it. As they approached the crate, Catherine and her group moved to the left, and formed a semi circle facing the center of the facility.

Dillton and his group, moved to the right of the crate, his men standing on either side of him. He looked inside, his mouth agape. "What in hell is this?" he said. He tapped Catherine on the shoulder and she turned around.

She furrowed her brow in shock and confusion. Inside was a large leathery object, shaped like a egg. It was dark colored and covered in wet, gray mud. It was opened up at the top like a flower in bloom. The inside was white and looked like offal she had seen in some Celtic restaurants, and was dripping with thick liquid. She saw that some of the strange liquid had leaked out over the edge, onto the floor. She looked down and saw the jagged trail it made. Right into the central isle.

"Captain, come look at this," she said, pointing to the trail. He walked over to spot and knelt down. He looked at the trail, following it with his eyes.

"Fall in, we're going up the central isle. That is were the trail leads. Maybe with luck we'll find Maxton, or what ever came out of that thing," he said, pointing to the egg. He took his spot next to Catherine, and both groups fell in behind them. They began to move slowly across the open area.

As they crossed into the central isle, both groups took up positions on either side of the isle. They moved slowly, using their lights to illuminate shadows. On the right side, as they entered the isle, was enclosure 5.

Catherine watched from the other side of the isle, as the starwolves paced around the enclosure. The Alpha male seemed to stay in front of the females, who were pacing near the back of the artificial cave.

Slowly they crept, moving step by careful step, until they approached the corner of the enclosure. Catherine's group began to move past the corner, when she heard the Captain shout, "BODY!" His rifle pointing at Tom's stationary form lying against a crate.

Catherine gasped at the sight. "TOM!" she yelled. She rushed up to him and knelt down beside his body. Something was covering his face. It was hand shaped, however it had double the number of fingers, which were tipped with claws. The creature was beige colored, but parts of it were a off yellow and marked with dark, sickly looking spots. The creature was covered in deep wrinkles, giving it a shriveled look. Its fingers were many times longer then a humans, and were wrapped around the back of his head. It had a long segmented tail, which was wrapped around Tom's neck. On its back were two sacks, that seamed to inflate and deflate in time with the rise and fall of Tom's chest.

"Is he still alive?" asked the Captain. He knelt down beside Tom and tried to uncoil the creature from his neck. However he was unable to do so, as it had a immovable grip on him. The creature curled its tail even deeper around Tom's neck in response to being disturbed.

"I think so Sir! It appears to be breathing for him. Watch the sacs on its back. They fill and empty right as Tom's chest moves," she said. Catherine reached for a knife on her belt. She was going to cut the creature off of him, when her hand was stayed by the Captain.

"Stop!" he commanded. "If you touch that creature again, it may kill him! No one touches anything till I talk to Cerelon, understood?" he asked to the group, but specifically looking at a visibly disturbed Catherine.

Catherine gently leaned down, and placed her ear on Tom's chest, listening for his heart beat. Satisfied that she heard it beating strongly, she stood up. "Aye sir, we won't touch it. Should we move him?" Catherine asked.

"No. I'm going to contact Cerelon right now and get further instructions. Everyone stay quiet while I talk to the boss," he said. He raised his arm and flipped through the screens on his computer watch. When he found the contact number he was looking for he activated the video conference. Once contact was made, he walked a short distance away from the group.

While Captain Dillton talked to Mr. Cerelon, Catherine knelt down beside Tom. "Go make sure the other enclosures are secure," she said looking at the group of men around her.

They clicked their heels together in acknowledgment, standing at attention. "Yes Ma'am!" they said in unison, as they marched off as a group and began their inspection.

A solitary tear fell upon her cheek, as she reached up to run her fingers through his hair. However she stopped just shy of contact, not wanting to disturb the creature. So she held his hand instead, her thumb gently massaging the back of his hand.

"Jesus Tom," she said with a sigh. "I'm not ready to loose you yet. You hang in there, please," she said, her voice cracking just a little.

Having finished his conversation with Cerelon, Captain Dillton walked back towards enclosure 5. He watched his Sergeant as she held the mans hand, a single tear running down her face. He finally put together why she seemed different tonight.

"The bio-hazard team will be here in 15 minutes, they had to pick up a specialist," he said to Catherine. His commanding expression turned to one of compassion and understanding. "I've never seen you anxious on a entry before tonight,"Captain Dillton said, kneeling beside Catherine. "I knew something was bothering you Catherine, now I know why."

Catherine let go of Tom's hand and wiped the tear from her face. After composing herself, they both stood up. "I'm sorry about that sir. It's just, me and Tom are close and I just," she said with a sigh, not finishing her thought. She glanced down at Tom.

Dillton placed a hand on Catherine's shoulder and gently squeezed it. "I understand what it's like, to have someone you care for in danger, and how hard it is when you have to rescue them. My own family was trapped in the _Lyran Brothers Mall,_ when Rigini terrorists took it over 10 years ago. Damn savages, just burst in and started shooting everyone. Thankfully, my wife had enough training to duck her and the kids into a service tunnel and stay safe. A number of armed civilians managed to return fire, and kept the terrorists pinned down. Gave us enough time to get a Special Attack Team raid organized," he said looking to the side, lost in the recollection.

Catherine turned her head, looking at her Captain. "What happened? Were they alright?" she asked softly. "I barely remember that, I was just a teenager at the time. I was so focused on my training that I scarcely watched the news," she said.

"The armed civilians managed to kill a few of the nearly 2 dozen terrorists by the time we made entry. I remember my heart pounding, I was so scared. I was terrified I wouldn't find them alive. It was a struggle to maintain focus and do my job as I was trained. I remember dropping to my knees, crying like a baby when I found them safe," he said still looking at Catherine. "So don't think I don't know what your going through." he said.

Catherine looked over at Dillton, a small half smile on her face. "Thanks Captain," she said. She felt a little better now. Knowing that it was ok to feel nervous in situations like this. She had not rushed off and made mistakes, she had focused through the distraction and found her objective. She had reason to feel proud right now, however she didn't permit it, as her objective was still lying unconscious. A creature attached to his face.

It wasn't long, before the rest of the officers rejoined Captain Dillton and Catherine."Captain. We finished checking the enclosures and the perimeter. The area is secure," one of the young officers reported.

"Excellent. You guys can return to your patrol routes now. Me and the Sergeant will remain behind and wait for the bio-hazard team to arrive. Don't worry about a report, I'll take care of that," Dillton said to the group.

After chatting for a few minutes, the junior officers left to resume their patrol assignments. While they waited, Captain Dillton and Catherine shared stories each had gotten during their years of service. Inwardly, Captain Dillton was pleased to see Catherine's mood improve, as she shared her own stories, which distracted her from the precarious situation her boyfriend found himself in.

15 minutes went by before Captain Dillton's computer watch chimed again. He walked away to answer it, and was back a minute later. "Ok. The bio-hazard team is here, and they brought Dr. Ezekiel O'Malley, Cerelon's Xenobiologist. Soon as they have Tom loaded on the stretcher, we'll exit and secure the doors," he said to Catherine.

"Aye sir," she said. Catherine knelt down beside Tom, and gently took his hand, and kissed it. "Do you know were they are going to take him?" she asked Captain Dillton, as she sat Tom's hand down, and stood back up.

Before Dillton could answer, he heard the main doors opening. He saw several tall figures, clad in yellow environmental protection suits, walk through the door. The group was pushing a stretcher, which had several medic bags filled with gear sat upon them.

Following close behind them was Dr. O'Malley. He was a scrawny man, just under half Tom's size. He was dressed in a bright green shirt and khaki cargo shorts. His shirt was emblazoned with bright yellow bio-hazard symbol, and the words _Raccoon City Survivor_ printed in bold across the bottom. His dark brown, nearly black hair, was bowl cut and parted down the middle. He had thin rimless glasses set upon his small, pointy nose.

Captain Dillton looked back at Catherine, motioning for them to step out of the way of the oncoming team. "They're going to take him to Mr. Cerelon's home. He has a personal medical and surgical suite there. He wants as few people as possible knowing about this. So that's why Tom's not going to the hospital," he said.

Catherine watched as they approached. Their hazard suits covered their entire bodies, and had a large air purifier attached to their backs . It was topped with a hood, that connected to the rest of the suit, and had a large poly-carbonate mask integrated into it. Behind them, was the Doctor. He was furiously typing into his PDA, a small grin on his face. He looked up every so often, as to avoid running into anything while he typed.

The men clad in sealed yellow suits wheeled the stretcher right up beside Tom, and set it low to the ground. They had soon laid out a array of tools. From portable scanners to, covered vials ready to collect fluid samples, and a device that looked vaguely like a pistol. Its was orange, and instead of a barrel, had a large hypodermic needle at the end.

Dr. O'Malley walked up next to the bio-hazard workers. He turned the PDA around so that the backside was facing Tom, with a red light showing he was filming the scene.

"I want blood samples collected from him right now, and every hour from here on out," he commanded to the workers. He then pointed to a few others, who were preparing tools from the bags. "I want you two to start scanning the victim and creature. I want radiological and thermal scans of both subjects right now and continuing every hour till further notice," he said to the second small group of men, pointing his camera at them while he spoke. He then turned his focus back Tom.

The first group of bio-hazard workers pressed the device to Tom's arm, and pulled the trigger. Soon, his blood could be seen filling the empty vial just ahead of the trigger. When it was full, they removed the vial and put a stopper on it, and repeated the blood collection process once more. When they had collected the blood, they put the vials in a special containment vessel.

Shortly after that, the second group sat about making there scans and noting the results on their PDA's. Dr. O'Malley walked over to them and looked at the results of their first scans.

"This is amazing! I've never seen anything like it! That thing doesn't even show up on the thermal imaging scanner!" he said excitedly. "Ok, hurry up and load them on the stretcher and let's get back to the med-lab at Cerelon's place. Make it snappy I have history to make," he quipped with a grin. He turned off his recording and placed the PDA in holder on his belt, and walked over to Captain Dillton and Catherine.

He looked over at the men, who had moved Tom on to the stretcher and were strapping him down with large straps over his legs and over his chest. "Get him to the van and seal the rear compartment, I'll be out shortly," he said to the workers, who nodded there heads in acknowledgment. A few minutes later, they had finished loading their tools back into the storage bags and started to wheel Tom away. However they were stopped when a hand grabbed the rails of the stretcher.

"Wait," Catherine said. She walked slowly to were Tom lay. She bit her lip, as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She gently swallowed, allowing a small smile to form as she took his hand and held it gently.

"What are you doing? We need to get moving and get him to the medical lab," Dr. O'Malley snapped. His brow was furrowed, arms crossed over his chest.

Catherine ignored the Doctor, as she slowly raised Tom's hand to her lips, were she gave the back of it a soft kiss. Her lips lingered there for a few moments, savoring the feeling of his skin. "I'll see you as soon as I can," she said to him, her voice soft, just above a whisper.

She let go of his hand, placing it next to his body. She nodded to the bio-hazard workers and they pushed the stretcher away. Dr. O'Malley shook his head, and rolled his eyes at the display.

Catherine saw Dr. O'Malley's reaction to her affections for Tom, and took a instant dislike to him. Her face flushed, pulse quickened just a little. She forcefully pushed his shoulder, turning him to face her. "Got a Problem?" she snapped at him, her brows furrowing.

Doctor O'Malley took a nervous step back, loudly clearing his throat. He put his hands up in front of his body, as a make shift barrier between the angry female and himself."I..umm. It's just," he stammered.

"Well? If you have something to say spit it out then!" she commanded as she moved closer to the clearly frightened man.

"It's nothing, I'm sorry!" he pleaded to her. He took another step back, his back against a large feed crate next to Enclosure Number 3.

Catherine moved up to his outstretched hands. With one quick downward trapping motion with her right hand, she slapped his hand down and out of the way, and gripped his throat with her free hand and squeezed. "Good, now keep your bullshit to yourself!"

The only sounds coming from Dr O'Malley were faint gurgling noises, as he quickly shook his head up and down.

Captain Dillton, stopped and looked behind him. Catherine was only inches from the Doctors face, one hand gripping his throat, the other braced on the container next to his head. "Easy Catherine, don't do anything stupid," he advised.

She cast a glance sideways at the Captain, and released her grip from the Doctor's throat. He rubbed his neck, while taking in deep breaths. She stepped back from him and returned to her spot beside Captain Dillton.

Captain Dillton lead the way, as Catherine and Dr. O'Malley walked towards the front of the building.

They exited the building, with the Doctor heading straight for the bio-hazard transport van. A large white van, with simple bold lettering and symbols denoting its purpose.

After tapping the control panel next to the door a few times, the door closed behind them. Captain Dillton, then turned to Catherine. "The replacement guard should be here in a few minutes, they have a first shift guy coming in early," he said to her. Catherine nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"Sir, I want to go with Tom," she asked the Captain, her voice low. They walked to her patrol car. She watched as the white bio-hazard van pulled out and headed for Cerelon's mansion on the far end of the North side.

"Give me a minute, I'll ask Cerelon if you can meet them at his home," he said to her. He turned and walked a few paces away and called Mr. Cerelon. He didn't think that Cerelon would let her in, as he typically didn't let many people come to his home. However, to his shock, Cerelon consented to letting Catherine come be with Tom. He walked back to Catherine, a half smile on his lips.

"Well, you're in luck Cat. I didn't expect him to let you go over there, but he agreed with out any fuss. Just try to be on your best behavior ok, so don't take that scrawny Doctor's head off. I will clear your schedule for tomorrow night as well, so just focus on Tom," he said to her. Catherine was smiling.

"Thank you sir, really, I do appreciate it," she said to the Captain. He smiled back at her, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"It's no problem. I know exactly what you're going through, and honestly you would be useless tonight. I should know, I was. I had to go home after making my statements to the investigators on scene. All I could think of was being with my family. So just let me know if you kneed any vacation time and I'll have it put in right away," he said.

Catherine, turned and wrapped him in a warm hug. "Thanks John. I'll let you know as soon as I can."

He returned her hug, and looked down at her smiling. "Don't even worry about it. You have more then earned it. Now get going, you don't want to be late," he said to her.

She opened the door to her car and turned it on. "Can you call Cerelon's guard detail and tell them I am heading to my apartment to get some clothing and I'll be there soon?" she asked. She sat down and buckled her seat belt.

"No problem,I'll call them. However they should just wave you through when you arrive. I'll talk to you later Cat," he said as he stepped back from her door.

"Thanks. I'll check in with you soon as I know anything," she said. With that, she waved good bye to her Captain and pulled away, heading towards her East side apartment.


	10. Chapter 10

2 hours later, Catherine pulled up to the large,blackened steel gates. The gates, were apart of a large stone wall that surrounded the entire estate. It was topped with large blackened metal spikes every few inches, the sides of the spikes, had sharp knife like projections jutting off each side, forming a small cross shape. She rolled her window down and just through it was a video display, set inside a stainless steel box. She pressed a call button on the display. Moments later, the screen lit up, showing a older man with dark skin. He had a large scar running down the side of his face and a synthetic eye set in the socket.

"Names Marc Jessup, Chief of Staff. We are expecting you. Once in side, grab your things and let the valet park your car," he said. Then the video shut off, and the gates opened. Once inside, she slowly drove up the drive. The grounds were immaculate, perfectly manicured. Every tree and shrub shaped beautifully, thanks to an artists touch with sheers. She could see dozens of armed guards walking the grounds, some with trained dogs.

She could see the mansion in the background. Made from natural stones cemented together, it was nearly palatial. It had large, carved granite support columns, with flowering vines carved into them, which lined the front. The corners of the building had large recesses, in which were ornately carved granite gargoyles.

As Catherine got closer, she could see the smaller buildings that surrounded the main structure. Just to the right of the mansion was the main security center, which housed the garage for the security vehicles. Directly to the left of the mansion was a basketball and tennis court, next to a pristine pond with artificial beach. Tucked in a flat part of the yard adjacent to the home, was a large playground for children. It was surrounded by small logs and the entire assembly sat in a pit of soft wood chips.

Her mouth hung open as she took in the view. "Good Christ this place is huge!" she said to herself as she pulled up the semi circular drive next to the entry to the mansion. After she parked her car, a young man, wearing a red suit and red cap, walked up and opened her car door. He extended his hand and assisted her out of the car.

"Thank you," she said to the valet, as she hit the control to open her trunk. Before she could walk over to it, another young man, wearing a black butlers outfit, had already reached inside and grabbed her 2 large suit cases. " Oh! Thank you! I was just about to get them," she said.

"You are most welcome madam. If you would follow me, I'll show you to your room," the man said, setting her bags on a rolling cart. Catherine followed closely behind him as he pushed the cart into the home, its doors opening automatically for him.

Once inside, she glanced around at the subdued interior. Just inside the main entrance the floor was high polish concrete, which extended a ways through the main foyer. The interior walls were cream colored, upon which were numerous expensive paintings and drawings from all over the universe. Nestled against the walls were small tables that held decorative vases and hand made lamps. The door frames, and seams of the floor to the wall, and the wall to the ceiling, were covered in black ebony wood.

They continued to walk down through the foyer, and came upon a large hallway to the right. They turned here and continued a ways, before turning a corner. At the end of the smaller hallway was a large silver elevator. They stepped inside and after pressing a button on the control pad, they were taken to the second floor.

Catherine and the butler were now on the floor that held the guest quarters. There were rooms lining both sides of the hall. The butler lead her to a room a few paces from the elevator and opened the door, and they both stepped in.

" _Man! This is as large as half my apartment!"_ she thought. She walked up to the queen sized bed, covered in a white comforter and satin sheets, and laid her purse down. The butler unloaded her bags from the cart and sat them next to the end of the bed.

He turned to Catherine, and gave a quick bow, his hand over his chest. "I do hope you enjoy your stay madam. If you should need anything, please don't hesitate to call the butler staff," he said to Catherine. He straightened his uniform, and began to push the cart out of the room. Suddenly a chime came from his pocket, he quickly took out a PDA, and read the text only message before putting it away.

Catherine was sitting on the soft bed, admiring the décor. _"It's decorated similarly to Tom's apartment, reminiscent of the old world. Though this place looks more old England then old America,"_ she thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted when the butler cleared his throat.

"Madam, I have received word, that Master Cerelon would love to speak with you. When you're ready, proceed to the elevator and take it to the lower level," he said to her.

Catherine stood up and grabbed her purse. "Thanks, I'll head there right away," she said as she followed the butler out the door. He handed her the room keys.

"Very good madam. Here are your room keys, and have a good evening," he said as he took his leave of her and continued down the hall. She walked down the hall to the elevator doors and pressed the call button, and waited for its arrival.

XXX

Catherine stepped into the elevator, and pressed the option for the lower level on the display. A minute later, she had arrived at the lower level. When the door opened, she was greeted by towering middle aged guy. He had a gentle smile on thin lips, set underneath his stub nose. His eyes were deep, the color of molasses, matching his crew cut hair.

She looked up at the tall man, as he extended a cybernetic hand towards her. Catherine looked down at the artificial hand, a eyebrow raised, and shook it. It was cold, covered in a polymer substance that looked and felt like his peach colored skin. There were large scars running up both sides of his arm, starting at the connection of the cybernetic hand, and ending at his elbow. On his right arm, just above the wrist, was a large, rectangular scar, as if a large patch of skin was cut off.

"Name's Roy Larkdon. I'm Mr. Cerelon's Executive Assistant," he said to Catherine.

After curtly shaking his hand, she withdrew her own, clasping it behind her back. "Catherine Jamesine, Peace Enforcement. Sergeant first class," she said.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Jamesine. If you would follow me, I'll take you to the observation room," he said, motioning down the hall to the right. Catherine nodded in acknowledgment and followed close behind him.

Catherine glanced around her. The first thing she noticed was that this level looked nothing like the upstairs living area. There were small rooms running up and down the hallway. They were set up like rooms in a hospital, with numerous readouts for monitoring vital signs, a large hospital bed, and all manner of medical supplies. Basic wooden cabinets were in each corner, and in the corner hung a small computer monitor for watching programming and surfing the Ethernet.

Catherine tapped Roy a few times on his shoulder. "What is this place?" she asked. Roy turned his head around slightly, and with out stopping.

"This is Mr .Cerelon's personal medical facility. He and his family, VIP's and anyone he deems important use this place when they need medical care," he said, returning his head forward.

"So why is Tom here then?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"We can discuss that when we see Mr. Cerelon. Ahh here we are, the observation room," he said, motioning to a set of steel doors.

Set in a large wall, their was a large window on the right side of the double doors. Catherine looked inside, and saw to her astonishment, that Cerelon was in there. He was seated at a table with Dr. O'Malley, who was showing him something on his PDA.

They both walked inside.

"Sir, this is not enough information! All we have is a few pictures, some testimony and basic information. This is Weyland-Yutani for goddess sake, their should be way more information here!" said Dr. O'Malley, completely oblivious to Catherine and Roy's entrance.

Cerelon, dressed in a dark sweatshirt and sweatpants, rolled his eyes and squeezed his fists together. "Look Doctor, that is all the information my sources could get on this matter. Weyland-Yutani is keeping their information close to their chest. You're just going to have to make due with what you have. You're a scientist, so I expect you to stop whining, and act like one. Figure it out," he said sternly. He looked up from the small table and noticed that Roy and Catherine had entered the room.

He stood up from the table, and walked over to her, extending his hand in greeting. "Greetings. I'm Donald Cerelon, welcome to my home," he said.

Catherine politely shook his hand, and nodded her head. "Hi. Catherine Jamesine," she said. "Thanks for inviting me."

Cerelon looked at her, for just a brief second. His jaw unlatched just a little, as his thoughts were turned to another time and place. Just as quickly, his focus returned.

"Would you like to sit down?" he asked, motioning to a empty chair across from Dr. O'Malley.

"No thanks," she said, shaking her head. "How is Tom?" she asked. She fidgeted with her hands,which were clasped in front of her.

Cerelon walked up to the glass partition separating the examination room, from the observation room. "Come have a look," he said, pointing to a spot in front of the window.

Catherine moved to the window, and peered inside, gently rubbing her forearm nervously. Inside, was a large examination bed, which Tom was laying on. In the corner was a large scanner. The off white device was as big as a bathroom. It featured a swing out bed, that with a push of a button, would automatically move the patient in or out of the scanner, as needed. On the other side of the bed was a mobile vital signs monitoring system. It displayed blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen absorption, and numerous other functions. Catherine was slightly relieved at the sight of the monitor, reassured at the sight of his steady heart rhythm.

"He looks the same as when we found him," she said to Cerelon.

Just then Dr. O'Malley spoke up. "Of course he does. Implantation normally takes 5 hours, and other factors not withstanding, he would be in implantation for another 3 hours," he said."At least, that's how long it normally takes."

Catherine turned to face Dr. O'Malley, a look of disgust on her face. "Implantation? Ok, what the hell is that thing, and what is it implanting in Tom?" she asked.

Cerelon walked over to a empty chair and pulled it out, motioning to it with his free hand. Catherine sat down."Thank you," she said, looking at Cerelon.

Cerelon simply nodded his head and took his seat next to the Doctor. "Doctor, if you would, start at the beginning. Start with the thing in the observation room," Cerelon ordered.

O'Malley closed his eyes and gave a deep sigh. "The species is called the _Archeronian Xenomorph._ The creature in there, is what is termed a _Ovamorph_. I assume you saw the large egg in the warehouse? It came from that. Its sole purpose in life is to seek out host's to implant the embryo it carries inside of it. Once implantation is complete, it falls off dead. Implantation can last anywhere from an hour to over 5 hours, depending on the conditions of the host and what type of Ovamorph it is."

Catherine looked at him her eyebrow raised in confusion and disgust. "Ok, so what is it implanting then?" she asked.

Dr. O'Malley rolled his eyes."I was getting to that. It is implanting a Xenomorph Warrior," he said to her. He then touched his PDA a few times and then slid it over to Catherine."That is a sample picture of a Xenomorph Warrior."

Catherine's look of disgust and confusion turned to shock and horror, as she looked at the strange beast displayed on the screen. The small screen only displayed the head, but that was enough to give her a idea as to what the rest of it looked like. It was pure black, with a long, dome like head. It had black, fleshy lips, which were curled up to reveal numerous sharp, metallic teeth. The top of its smooth head, had a odd shine to it, glossy even.

She covered he mouth with a barely audible gasp, and pushed the PDA back to the Doctor. "That's what is inside him?" she ask, her voice low, her brows furrowed.

Dr. O'Malley leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. "Not exactly. The embryo is small and barely formed. Not even fully implanted yet. However, once implantation is done, gestation begins, and we can get a better look at it. During gestation it will look pale and worm like, only vaguely resembling its adult form."

"How long is gestation, Doctor?" Cerelon asked, looking at the Doctor.

The Dr. O'Malley rubbed his chin, his eyes looking off into the distance. His brows furrowed as he pondered the question. "That is anyone's guess. The data here suggests a variable window depending on Xenomorph type. If it is a warrior, less then 24 hours. If it is a Queen, then nearly a week," Dr. O'Malley said as he glanced down at the information.

Catherine sat in silence, her mind swirling, hands pressed together against her mouth. _"It's like a demon! Things like that shouldn't exist! Now Tom has this thing growing inside him!"_ she thought. _"Growing inside him..."_ she thought, a realization forming at the edge of her mind, her eyes went wide.

She unclasped her hands and looked at the Doctor. "What happens after gestation?" she asked.

Cerelon, looked at Catherine, with a raised brow, then to Dr. O'Malley. "Yes Doctor, What happens after gestation? How is this thing...uhh... born?" he asked.

Dr. O'Malley looked at Cerelon and then at Catherine, a curious glint in his eyes. "Well this is another place the information is vague. It just says that it birthed, and that the human subjects didn't survive. I have a feeling that it just pushed its way out of their bodies, I surmise it would be the chest. It also made no mention of surgical intervention," he said.

Catherine gasped, her eyes wide, heart racing, her hand gesturing in the air by her face. "What?! You mean that thing will just break out of his chest! That will kill him!" she roared, slamming her fist on the table. Dr. O'Malley nearly jumped out of his chair, his eyes wide.

Cerelon turned to Catherine, a look of understanding on his face. "Hold on Ms Jamesine, let's hear the Doctor out," he said, holding his hand up, in a halting fashion.

Catherine looked at Cerelon, her eyes narrowed. She folded her arms across her chest, and returned her gaze to the Doctor.

"Look I am just guessing, based on years of experience and what little I have from Weyland-Yutani! There is nowhere for it to go! It has to come out of him somehow, and the chest is the best place! It's the thinnest point between it and freedom, not to mention it is going to be to big too come out of his mouth. So naturally it's going to take the direct route and push through the rib cage. However, there is a mitigating circumstance," he said. He typed for a minute on his PDA, and slid it over to Cerelon.

"That is what a healthy Ovamorph looks like," he said, pointing to a picture on the left side of the screen. The creature displayed was clean and smooth, its beige skin free of imperfections. "This is what we have in the examination room, notice any differences?" he asked, pointing to the picture of Tom on the right side of the screen, taken at the warehouse.

Cerelon scratched his chin. "The one on Tom looks sick," he said, looking at the pictures closely. "Grey and shriveled, and look at those disgusting spots," he said. He tapped the PDA a few times and laid it down, the pictures were displayed as holograms floating in the air.

Dr. O'Malley sat forward on his chair, gesturing outwardly with his hands. "Exactly!" he said. He clapped his hands together, then pulled the PDA closer. "Over the last few hours I have been watching the implantation through the scanner, and it is moving at a incredibly slow pace. It should be a lot further along by now. My second year of study, I researched many types of Exo and Endoparasitoids, and one common theme, was they completed implantation very quickly. I wont know till I examine the creature after implantation is complete, but my best guess is, it is dying. Or at the least incredibly weak."

Cerelon shifted in his chair, tapping his fingers against the table while staring at the hologram. "Hmm... If it is weak and near death, what about the embryo? Will it survive?" he asked.

Dr. O'Malley looked down for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "If the Ovamorph survives long enough to complete the implantation, then the embryo should survive. What I don't know, is if the embryo is strong, or if it is just as weak. There is no way to tell at this stage. If the embryo is weak, gestation could take a lot longer."

"If the embryo survives gestation, and it is weak, will that affect its long term health?" Cerelon asked.

"I don't know. We wont know that till after it is born. It could be like a premature baby. Very weak at birth, but comes out to be strong later in life," Dr. O'Malley said.

Catherine shot up from her chair, her finger pointing at Dr. O'Malley. "So that's it! You're more worried about your damn science project, then Tom's life! You're just going to let him die just to get your precious pet?! I swear to God, if Tom dies, they won't find enough pieces of you to feed Cerelon's Starwolves!"she said, her eyes beginning to mist.

Dr. O'Malley stood up and leaned over the table, looking at Catherine. "Now wait just a damn minute! I never said anything about him dying!" he said. "If anything I would recommend that the embryo be surgically removed before birth! Given how weak the Ovamorph is, it is likely the embryo is weak as well. I wouldn't risk it not being able to break through his thick chest!"

Cerelon stood up and slowly walked over to Catherine. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned and faced him, a tear escaping her eyes. "Catherine. I may be a lot of things, but a completely heartless monster is not one of them. Surgical removal was always the only option for this things birth," he said, as he wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "As soon as I found out what was happening, I summoned Gorans best medical team here. They are gathering their equipment and should be here by tomorrow afternoon."

A few more tears fell down her cheeks as she fought back her desire to sob, only for her to wipe them away. She looked Cerelon in the eyes, she spoke softly. "Really? Why?"

Cerelon smiled softly as he looked down and met her gaze. "Because I can. Not to mention that finding trustworthy people to work for me is not easy."

A small smile found its way to her lips, as she felt a great weight lift from her heart. She stepped forward and gave Cerelon a quick, but warm hug, whispering to him. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," he said as she stepped back from the embrace. "There is no point in you staying down here watching him. Why don't you get some sleep? Soon as the Ovamorph has released its grip on him, we will call you right down. You will be the first thing he see's when he wakes up," Cerelon said motioning to the door.

"Yes sir, and Thank you," she said. She turned and walked out the door, and five minutes later, was back inside her room. After turning off the lights, she crawled into bed, tucking the covers over her shoulders. _"I wish Tom was here right now, holding me, keeping me warm,"_ she thought. She closed her eyes but sleep did not come quickly, as she tossed and turned for a while, before sleep finally took her.

XXX

Dr. O'Malley was sitting in his office. He watched, as the computer screen before him displayed a video of the scan in progress. The creature had completely blocked the bronchial branch that divided both lungs. Its complex proboscis, expanding to seal the passages. He tapped on his PDA and started a video recording. "Dr. Ezekiel O'Malley, Video log. It's been 24 hours since the subject was brought in, and implantation is proceeding atypically. According to our scant information, this should have concluded 19 hours prior. Which only further supports my theory that this Ovamorph is very weak, and likely close to death."

He then tapped on the computer screen a few times and brought up a new screen. He turned his PDA to face the computer screen, and continued recording. "As you can see, this is the latest toxicology report. The creature seams to be releasing some kind of toxin into his bloodstream. It appears to be similar to the Tetrodotoxin of blowfish, in that it paralyzes the victim to the point of suppressing lung function," he said, turning the pad around facing him.

Dr. O'Malley then switched the computer monitor back to the scan video, and zoomed the image in. "Here you can see, that the inside of the proboscis is very complex, with numerous small implements inside. Many of which are smaller then the human hair," he said.

O'Malley then pointed to a spot on the right lung. "You may not be able to see it from this video, but this small tentacle is slowly burrowing into the lung tissue. I can only theorize that implantation will be complete in approximately 12 hours, given how much progress it has made thus far, and how much it needs to complete. Namely the connections to the heart and the installation of the blood-blood barrier between host and embryo." Dr. O'Malley turned off the recording and laid back in his chair, watching the computer screen, as the creature slowly completed its task.

"It's only a matter of time before this thing is born. When it is, history is forever changed, and I shall be at the front of it," he said to himself, smirking confidently.


	11. Chapter 11

The hot water ran down Catherine's back, as she ran the loofah over her body. Carefully, she cleaned the sweat and grime from her workout away. After having checked on Tom that morning, she went shopping for most of the afternoon, before joining the later afternoon workout at Team Apex. With him still unconscious, the creature still on his face, she was getting restless. It had been just over a day since he was attacked, and she needed to let off steam. Some light sparring and drilling at the gym was exactly what she needed.

After washing, she let the shower run on her back, the warmth of the water soothing her. While she did in fact feel a lot better, her worry for Tom having subsided significantly, she was starting to feel something familiar. A inkling, something inside she had been suppressing for a while, that was starting to make itself known again. Just like all the times before, the strange tension she felt, started small. Like a match lit in a room full of burning candles, it was barely noticeable, but noticeable it was. She would need to deal with this sooner rather then later, or it would only grow to the point of distraction.

A short while later she dried off and dressed, her gym bag over her shoulder. She stepped out of the locker room, and stopped at the edge of the grappling mats. Standing there, was Tasia. She had finished her workout and was preparing to teach her traditional Taekwondo class. It was a small class, but that was just fine with Tasia, as it left more room for close personal instruction.

Tasia, dressed in her white dobok and black belt, turned to Catherine. "How is Tom? I heard he got hurt on the job."

"He is alive, but still unconscious. Doctor's say he should wake up soon," Catherine said. She moved her gym bag to her other shoulder, fidgeting with the strap.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Tasia asked. A few students entered the gym, she smiled and gave them a quick bow.

Catherine shook her head. "Sorry Tasia, I can't say anything. We're all sworn to a NDA by Mr. Cerelon."

"Huh.. Well that sucks," Tasia said.

"Yeah I know, but it is what it is. Gotta do what I am told," Catherine said. She looked at the clock and to the door.

"Well my class is about to start. When you see Tom, wish him well," Tasia said. "Cya later Cat." She waved goodbye as she bowed to her gathered students and began class.

Catherine returned the wave and headed for the door. "Cya Tasia." She walked to her car and returned to Cerelon's manor.

XXX

As Catherine walked through the main doors, she was immediately greeted by a butler.

"Madam, You are requested down in the lower level. I shall take your bags to your room for you, if you shall proceed immediately there," the butler said, holding his arm out. She handed her work out bag to him and smiled.

"Thank you. Did they say what for?" she asked.

"No ma'am. I am certain that it is important, as they told me to find you immediately upon your arrival," he said to her.

She nodded her head and walked away, quickly making her way to the elevator that lead down to the medical she approached the elevator she thought to herself, _"I wonder what's going on? I hope its not bad news."_ She pressed the selection for the lower level, and rode the short distance downwards. Her stomach turned with butterflies as she prepared for whatever was coming.

As Catherine stepped out of the elevator she was met by Roy. "The creature fell off a few hours ago, and Tom is starting to wake up. So go on into the exam room, he should wake up in a few moments," Roy said. "I have updated most of the doors on this level with yours and Tom's fingerprints, so you can come and go at will."

As she rounded the corner, she looked back with a smile, before entering the exam room. " Thanks Roy."

"No problem, have a good day!" he said. He turned around and left, leaving Catherine by herself in the examination room.

As Catherine entered the exam room, she could see Tom was waking up. She pulled up a chair next to his bed, and held his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Tom could hear a odd beeping noise in the background, as he started to wake up. His throat felt odd, and it hurt when he tried to swallow. He cracked his eyes open, the light of the room stinging his eyes, he tried to sit up. His head swayed as he started to feel dizzy. He was startled when he felt a hand softly push him back down on to the mattress. He felt another hand holding his own, and it squeezed his softly.

"Take it easy baby, just lie down." Tom slowly rolled his head to the left, and opened his eyes wider then the barely cracked slits they were previously. After a moment the pain in his eyes subsided. He smiled as he looked into the angelic face of Catherine, and tenderly squeezed her hand in return.

He slowly looked around the room, taking in the large scanner to his right, and the various monitors and equipment scattered throughout the room. He looked back at Catherine, his voice barely above a whisper when he asked, "Where am I?"

Catherine caressed the side of his face, running her fingers over the rough stubble that had begun to grow. After a bit, she slowly ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying its softness. "You're at Mr. Cerelon's personal medical suite, inside his mansion," she said. "You were brought here after the creature attacked you."

Tom furrowed his brow in confusion, and grimaced as he tried to swallow, his throats dryness adding to his discomfort. "Attacked? What are you talking about?" he asked. "What the hell is going on?"

Catherine looked at him, her eyes signaling her concern. "You don't remember being attacked and pressing the lock down control?" she asked.

Tom pursed his lips, and shook his head, his voice elevated slightly, "No I don't!"

Catherine sighed, as she began swiping through apps on her watch, till she came to the video files. She quickly tapped a few commands and turned the watch to him. "This is surveillance footage from the cameras inside the warehouse," she said. "This video starts a few minutes before you were attacked and ends just after you are taken away by Dr .O'Malley's men."

Tom watched in horrified fascination as the video played, showing the events that lead to his current situation. His eyes went wide, his mouth hung open slightly, as the video showed him discovering the open crate and its ovoid object inside. "I don't remember any of this," he said. "Last thing I remember is arriving for work."

He gasped as he watched the creature leap off the table, attaching itself to his face. He shook his head at his failed attempt to remove the creatures tail from his neck, and press the lock down before passing out against the crate.

Catherine pressed a button and the video moved ahead by a few minutes. "This is were me and my team made entry and found you," she said. Tom watched on as her team slowly made its way through the warehouse.

Tom felt her squeeze his hand tightly as the video showed her running up to his unconscious form, calling his name. The video ended with another team of people, dressed in bio-hazard suits, taking him away. Tom looked over at Catherine, her eyes were misty. She got out of her chair and moved closer to him, her hands cupped his face, as she laid her forehead against his. Her hair spilled around his head, as her voice cracked. "I was so worried about you Tom! I thought I lost you!"

Tom slowly reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, before pulling her down into a soft kiss. He felt a tear fall upon his face as their lips parted. He stroked her cheeks, his thumb wiping away her tears. "Come up here," he said, patting the spot next to him on the bed.

Catherine looked around, and quickly climbed up. She laid down on the side of his chest, her head resting upon his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back, and running his fingers through her hair. She curled into a tight ball, sobbing softly. "I'm just so glad your ok!" she said. She tilted her head up and kissed his cheek, before settling back down on his shoulder.

"Hey now, I'm ok, I'll be fine. I am just a little dizzy and tired. I'll be up in no time," he said, wiping a tear from her face. He felt her nod he head in agreement. He smiled briefly before kissing the top of her head. He felt very happy to have someone like her in his life, caring about him, and showing him more affection then he had known in a long time.

He felt a lump in his throat, and when he tried to swallow, he winced in pain. His whole mouth was dry, as if he hadn't drank anything for days.

"I really could use with a drink though, I can't believe how thirsty I am," he said. "Think you can help me get some water?" he asked.

Catherine looked up at him and smiled, "Sure thing, are you hungry?" she asked. She brought up a small controller attached to the bed and pressed the call button.

"Nah, I'm not hungry, water will do, though ask for plenty, because my mouth feels like a desert," he said, licking his lips.

Catherine giggled a bit at the comment, and placed the order with the nurse.

A few minutes later, the nurse came in with a few, large bottles of water. She cast a disapproving glare at the sight of Catherine lying in bed with Tom. To which, Catherine narrowed her eyes, glaring at her in return.

She quickly snatched the bottles from the nurse, and coolly dismissed her. "Thank you," she said, waving her hand towards the door. The nurse rolled her eyes as she turned around and walked briskly out of the room, grumbling to herself.

As soon as she had popped the top on the water bottle, Tom had taken it from her. He begun to drink rapidly, not stopping till he finished the bottle. As the cool liquid soothed his throat, he moaned slightly as his immense thirst was slowly being sated.

Tom sat the empty bottle down, and reached for the other, and finished it just as quickly. Catherine looked up at him, her brows raised in curious amusement. "Holy crap!I guess you were thirsty!" she said. After watching him wipe water off his lips, she giggled at him teasingly. "I can go get you a water hose if you like?" she asked.

Tom smiled and he shook his head. With a chuckle he said, "Sure, let's get right on that. I'll just saunter outside and start sucking on the end of a garden hose. That should do it!"

XXX

Tom laid in bed with Catherine for several hours, holding each other tightly and chatting about the events of the last few days. Tom's dizziness having faded away, laid there looking down at her alluring form, gently stroking her lovely red hair. _"My god! She looks amazing, and she is only in sweatpants and a T-shirt!"_ he thought. _"No matter what she wears, she takes my breath away!"_

Tom lifted his head just a bit, smiling softly, as his gaze drifted down to the voluptuous curve of her bottom. He ran his fingers down her back, massaging gently as he went along, his fingertips eager to explore her. Soon though, his smile turned to a frown _. "Dammit! It's just out of reach!"_ he thought.

He sighed in defeat, as his arms resumed their position enfolded across her back. Catherine looked up at him demurely, shifting her position so that she was now straddled across his hips. Her hands slid their way behind his head, her fingers running through his hair. She sat up, and brought her face just inches from his. His pulse quickened as he felt her warm breath against his lips.

Her lips curved into a suggestive half smile, her teal eyes locking with his. She whispered softly to him, her lips still just centimeters from his. "Caught you looking!" she said.

Her lips descended onto his in a lingering, passionate kiss. Tom felt her hand gently close over the top of his, slowly pulling it down her back, eventually coming to rest on her bottom. He closed his eyes as he gave it a tentative squeeze, enjoying the feeling of her perfectly round and firm bottom, and eliciting a slight moan from Catherine. She whispered softly to him, "Soon, I promise." She brought her hand back around his head, pulling his head closer, deepening their kiss.

Moments later, the door to the examination room opened, startling them. Catherine immediately separated from Tom, and hopped back down to on the floor, and stood by his right side. Catherine straightened her clothing, and cleared her throat.

Dr. O'Malley walked through the door first, wearing a black shirt and white lab coat. Standing next to him was a older lady, wearing a simple blue t-shirt underneath a white lab coat. She had short brown hair and eyes to match. She had a mischievous smile on her face, and chuckled at the sight in front of her. "Alright, that's enough of that!" she said to the couple.

Tom's face turned bright red, he looked away trying to hide his embarrassment. Catherine only smiled, giggling softly as she took hold of Tom's hand.

"Yes please stop. I don't want to loose the snack I just ate," said Dr. O'Malley. _"What could she possibly see in him? He is far from worthy of a lady like her!"_ he thought.

He and his cohort moved to the other side of Tom, standing to his left. Following behind them was Roy, who was pushing a large IV fluid setup in front of him. He left the IV just behind the Doctor and walked out of the room.

The lady Doctor shook hands with Tom, greeting him with a warm smile. "Now that I have you two love birds attention, I'm Dr. Alice Falton," she said. "Mr. Cerelon's personal physician."

Tom looked at her badge, and noticed she was double board certified in Cardiac surgery and general emergency surgery. A fact clearly spelled out by the long string of acronyms following her name.

Dr. Falton hooked up numerous small bags to small port in the IV, connected to large main bag of saline solution. She turned around in her seat, facing a large medical dispensary cart that was pushed up against the wall, and began searching through its contents.

"Now, Mr. Maxton, we are here to discuss your current condition," Dr. O'Malley said. He brought out a large PDA and searched through its apps. After finding what he was looking for he looked back up to Tom. "How much do you remember of your attack?" he asked.

Tom looked over at Catherine and then back to Dr. O'Malley. "Not much, I only remember arriving for work, after that it's a blank," he said to the Doctor.

"Oh! I showed them the video of the attack as soon as he woke up," Catherine said to Dr. O'Malley, tapping her watch. She held Tom's hand with both of hers, her thumb softly tracing the top of his palm.

Dr. O'Malley crossed his arms in front of his chest, and briefly glanced over at Catherine and back to Tom. "Good,"he said."Now, have you ever heard of the Archeronian Xenomorph?" he asked.

Tom shook his head, "No, doesn't ring a bell."

Dr. O'Malley Straightened his glasses, and began rambling inanely, "Well, It should be said that the name, Archeronian Xenomorph, is not entirely correct, as it is very vague. Xenomorph simply means, alien form. Going back into history this creature had a even more ridiculous name, Xenomorph XX121. Given to it by Weyland-Yutani. There are several proposed binomial names for it, such as _Intemecivis Raptus._ Which means _Murderous Thief,_ or _Lingua Feoda Archeronisis. Foul Tongue of Archeron_. However, until the United Systems Science Council rules on its official designation, Archeronian Xenomorph will suffice," Dr. O'Malley said. He sat back in his chair, and straightened his jacket with a confidant smirk on his face. _"Bet he didn't understand half of that,"_ he thought.

Tom impatiently tapped his fingers against the railing of the bed, staring blankly at Dr. O'Malley. Catherine groaned her boredom with the lecture, and rolled her eyes. Catherine said, "Holy crap! I have been on stakeouts more exciting then this lecture!"

Dr. Falton gave a loud sigh, her back still turned to them. She was still looking through the medical dispensary cart."Oh for the love of God! No one cares about the name!" she said."Just get on with it!"

Dr. O'Malley's face reddened slightly as he grumbled angrily to himself, "Ignorant fools."

He turned his PDA around. On the screen was a black figure, with a smooth doomed head. Beneath the black, eyeless dome, was a large, fleshy mouth. Its lips were curled up, revealing sharp, grey colored metallic teeth. Behind the creatures head, he could see part of what appeared to be a 2 large, black colored tubes.

"That is a full grown, adult specimen. The creature that attacked you, implanted a very small, immature version inside of you. A embryo if you will," Dr. O'Malley said. "This species is what we in Xenobiology call a endoparasitoid. Which, in case you don't know, means there is a parasite inside your body. Which, I am sure you are unaware, is different from a ectoparasitoid, which is a external parasite."

He turned the PDA around and slid it back into his pocket.

Tom rolled his eyes, and sighed. _"Jackass! What's his problem? Does he really think I am that stupid, that I don't understand what he is saying?"_

"What I really want to know is, what is it doing inside me, and when is it coming out?" Tom asked Dr. O'Malley.

The door to the medical supply cart slammed shut. Dr. Falton turned around and exclaimed, "Ahh ha! Found It!" She held up a small metallic bracelet. "Good gravy, this cart is a mess!"

Dr. O'Malley stood up, and brought over a portable scanning machine. The machine was white in color, with a large rectangular main body, which was situated on a four wheel cart. It had a flat rectangular plate, fixed to a movable, jointed armature, coming off the side of the machine. Dr. O'Malley moved the scanning plate over Tom's chest, and began typing commands in to the large flat screen monitor in front of the machine.

"As for what it is doing inside of you, that should be patently obvious. It's a parasite, feeding off of you. Specifically the contents of your blood stream," Dr. O'Malley said. "I'll let Dr. Falton go into detail regarding specifically what it is taking from you. Now to attempt to pull you from your ignorance on this creature, please turn your attention to the screen."

He then pressed a button on the monitor, and a feint whine could be heard emanating from the machine, as the screen filled with a live video of the inside of Tom's chest cavity.

"On that note, give me your arm Mr. Maxton. I'm going to put this IV port in your wrist," Dr. Falton said to Tom. He held out his arm, and she grasped it in her soft hands, moving it closer to her. She took a sterile cloth, soaked in anti-microbial solution, and cleaned Tom's wrist. She quickly fastened the metallic bracelet around his wrist and pressed a button on the top of it.

Tom paid no mind to the brief sting of pain in his arm as the bracelet inserted the IV port, his gaze was fixated on the image on the screen. Dr. Falton connected the clear, flexible tube from the IV to the port in Tom's arm, and began the Drip.

Tom narrowed his eyes, as he carefully studied the video. He could see his own heart, beating steadily. With each breath he took,the lungs pictured in the video moved in perfect unison.

"Can you zoom in on the embryo?" Tom ask Dr. O'Malley. Without saying a word, Dr. O'Malley spread his fingers across the area of the screen to the left of his Lung, greatly enlarging the image.

Tom's mouth partly hung open, as he stared at the being gestating within him.

There, next to his lung was a small amniotic sac, which contained inside it, a small worm like creature. The beige colored being had a rounded head, and smooth, segmented body, that was thick near the head and tapered down to a small, whip like tail.

Just outside of it, was a tiny pulsing organ. It had several connections coming off of it, attaching to arteries on his heart and lungs. There was 2 more connections coming from the little organ, which ran inside the sac, connecting to creature inside.

Tom's lips curled into a half smile as he stared at the video on the screen. He whispered to himself, "wow!"

Catherine nudged Tom with her elbow and said,"Wow?! You have a demonic worm inside you, and all you can say is wow?"

Tom looked over at Catherine, and with a brief chortle he said, "I don't know Cat, It's kind of cute."

Catherine glanced sideways at Tom, her eyebrow raised and said, "You're nuts! You know that?!"

Tom glanced back to the screen, and nodded his head. "I must be, it kinda looks like a baby in there," he said.

Dr. Falton retrieved a laser pointer from her pocket and pointed it at the screen. "While it is clearly not a baby, it is method of gestation is quite complex and similar to a babies," she said. She took the laser pointer and aimed it at the small pulsing organ outside the amniotic sac. "Just look at this, that is the placenta. Dr. O'Malley, can you overlay the next layer of data, showing the movement of the fluids?"

"Um hmm," Dr. O'Malley said. He pressed a tab on the screen, and in a instant, it was filled with vivid colors. "Now, I would like to point out to you Mr. Maxton, that the colors on the screen are just a artificial representation of what they actually look like inside your body, but I am sure you knew that," he said. "Now I have added in detail for bodily fluids, and your blood is colored red, obviously. When it comes to the embryo, I took the liberty to shade its organs a bright green, and its blood yellow."

"Ah thank you Dr. O'Malley," she said. She moved the laser pointer to the first set of connections coming from Tom's body. "As Dr. Sunshine pointed out, your blood is colored red. You can see it flowing from your arteries,a nice bright red, and out through the little umbilical cords connecting to the placenta," she said. She moved the laser pointer to the placenta."As the blood leaves the placenta, you can see it is darker in color, indicating it was de-oxygenated.

Dr. O'Malley's face reddened, as he grit his teeth. _"Stupid bitch! By the Goddess I wonder if Tom really is the dumbest person at this table, or if it is Falton,"_ he thought. Under the table, his hands were balled into fists. Unclenching his hands, he fished for his PDA and started re-reading the information gotten from Weyland-Yutani.

"Now here you can see, that the organ in fact is acting as a placenta. You can see the creatures yellow colored blood, moving out of it, through the connections and into the organ," Dr. Falton said. "However, you can see that the two blood types are not mixing. So I deduce that the organ is keeping them separate, and pulling what ever nutrients and elements from your blood that it can. Which leads me to my next point."

She tapped the bracelet on Tom's wrist, and brought out her PDA. "Your last blood test showed that the levels of critical and non critical elements in your blood stream were low," she said. "Elements such as Iron and copper, and chromium and magnesium. Essentially every element found in the blood stream is being consumed."

She turned her PDA around and showed it to Tom and Catherine.

"As you can see, the series of blue bar graphs on the left, show what the blood makeup of a average, healthy adult male would be. Compare that to the set of green bar graphs to the right, which is your current blood work," Dr. Falton said to Tom.

Tom looked at the bar graph, and tilted his head. "It looks a lot smaller," he said.

Dr. Falton turned and spoke to Tom. "You're correct. Once we learned this fact, we ran further blood tests, and found that elements were not all it was taking from your blood stream. It is also removing large quantities glucose and fatty acids from your blood as well," Dr. Falton said. "It appears that the creature released a number of chemicals into your body that has caused your adipose tissue, your fat cells, to release their stores at a vastly increased rate."

Dr. Falton turned the PDA around and tapped the screen a few times, and turned it back to Tom and Catherine. "Here you can see two scans of your body. The first one taken right as you were brought in, the other just a few hours ago. As you can see, you have lost a bit of density in your fat cells," she said.

Tom looked at the screen, his head tilted, and brow arched. "Huh? I thought I had a lot more fat then that?" he asked.

Dr. Falton shook her head, put the PDA back into her pocket. " A lot more? You came in at just under 20% body fat. You're at just over 19% now. By my professional opinion you're in fantastic shape. If you had been any leaner, you would be in worse shape. As the creature would have to catabolize your muscle and tissues for the nutrients it needs," she said." You would feel sick, and lethargic. In a word, miserable."

Catherine leaned over the bed, her face hovering over Tom's. She stared at him, smiling softly, her brows raised. "I told you so!" she said, as she tweaked Tom's nose with her thumb and finger. She giggled briefly before straightening back up and looking at Dr. Falton.

Tom rolled his eyes, shaking his head briefly."Right," he said. "So, this thing is filtering nutrients out of my blood?" he asked Dr. Falton.

"Correct, and you need to make sure you eat plenty of food. It's especially important now that the embryo is feeding off of you as well. So far you have plenty of fat stores to sate it, as well as glucose in your blood stream and musculature to sustain its growth," she said. " However, I fear that it will soon run your adipose tissue stores to low, and that will lead your body to catabolize itself, and make you weaker. Which is bad, since you need to be as strong as possible to survive the birthing surgery."

Dr. Falton took her PDA from her pocket, and swiped through its apps for a moment, before she began to type. "So, since it has been more then a day since you last ate, I want you to eat something as soon as possible," she said. "I am going to place the order now, what would you like?" she asked.

Tom, glanced over at Catherine, and back to Dr. Falton, while briefly scratching his head. " I don't know? I don't really feel like eating," he said. "My stomach only just stopped feeling queasy a few hours ago."

Catherine snapped her fingers together, gaining both Tom's and Dr. Falton's attention. "I have an idea, what about a power smoothie?" she asked. " You can mix in all kinds of great things. All the fat and protein powder you want, blend in fruits and leafy greens and other vegetables and you have every thing the body needs. The calorie content can even be made as high or low as you want, while still tasting good!"

Dr. Falton smiled, and reached over Tom and gave Catherine a high five. "That is a fantastic idea! It will digest even quicker then solid food, while not upsetting his stomach," she said. Dr. Falton quickly typed in the order into her PDA and sent it to the overnight kitchen staff.

Dr. Falton then looked up at Tom. "Listen, you need to eat. Even if you don't feel hungry, it is imperative that you eat. So, I didn't hold back on that smoothie order I just sent out. I made it over 3500 calories," she said to Tom. She slid the PDA back into her pocket.

Tom stared at her, his mouth hung open wide, his brow furrowed. "3500 calories! Are you trying to make me gain weight?!" he said. He pursed his lips, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Dr. Falton.

Dr. Falton shook her head and giggled at Tom. "Don't look at me like that young man!" she said, wagging he finger at him. "Now is not the time to worry about your figure!" she said, tracing the shape of a hour glass in the air with her hands.

"Besides, with as much fat as that creature is consuming, your not likely to gain any weight at all. I wouldn't be shocked in the least, if I could make you drink 2 of those and you wouldn't gain weight, " Dr. Falton said to Tom.

"Hey don't worry about gaining weight. Soon as you're recovered, I'll make sure you're back in shape and on track. Trust me," Catherine said. She gave Tom's hand a gentle squeeze, and looked at him coyly."I have gotten you this far. I am fairly certain I can find more entertaining things for you to do, then sit and eat food all day," she said with a wink.

Dr. O'Malley palmed his forehead, and shook his head with a groan. "The thought of you two makes me sick," he said.

Catherine frowned, her brow furrowed, as she walked over to Dr. O'Malley, and slapped the back of his head, causing him to drop his PDA. He looked at her with wide eyes, his empty palms held up in front of him.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked as he picked up his device.

Catherine walked back over to Tom and turned around, glaring at Dr. O'Malley. "I thought I told you once before to keep your bullshit to your self!" she said.

Tom looked over at Dr. O'Malley and back to Catherine, his brows arched. "Ok then. Now that, that is settled," Tom said. He shook his head and laughed. He gently pulled Catherine down and kissed her cheek. "You sure do have a way with people."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Hmph."

Dr. O'Malley closed his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Fine, I wont say anymore about it," he said.

They sat in silence for a minute, as Dr. O'Malley checked over his PDA for damage.

Tom stared at the video screen. He watched the little pulsing organ, as the two distinct blood types moved into it, and came with in millimeters of each other, but didn't make contact. _"I wonder why that is?"_ he thought.

"Doctor Falton, you mentioned that the blood doesn't mix in the creatures placenta. Why?" Tom asked.

Dr. O'Malley sat up straight, adjusting his jacket,and said, "I'll take this question Dr. Falton."

"Thank you Sunshine!" she said. "What ever would I do with out your help?" she asked rolling her eyes.

Dr. O'Malley sighed as he glanced sideways at Dr. Falton, his brow arched. "As I was trying to say," he said, turning his gaze back to Tom. "The reason that the creatures blood does not mix with your blood, is that its blood is very acidic."

"What do you mean, acidic?" Tom asked. "You mean like vinegar or lemon juice?"

Dr. O'Malley's mouth was a agape. As he took in the question, he brought his hand to his forehead and laughed, shaking his head. "Oh no no no!" he said, as his laughter died down."I'm talking about a acid so strong, it can eat through solid steel. A molecular acid."

Dr. Falton groaned in disgust, as she kicked Dr. O'Malley's leg. "Did you fail basic chemistry class?" she asked Dr. O'Malley. "All acids are molecular, you moron!"

Dr. O'Malley yelped at the stinging pain in his shin. "What is with you people hitting me?!" he asked. He rubbed his shin for a moment before glaring at Dr. Falton."I hardly see how a common Surgeon has any grounds to question me on this matter!"

Dr. Falton smirked at him, her hands on her hips. " I guess that is how it is with you Xenobiologists," she said. "If you can't dazzle them with intellect, baffle them with bullshit!"

"I swear! Falton, when we're done here, I'm talking to Cerelon about this!" he said. "This kind of unprofessionalism is uncalled for!"

"Go ahead! I'll be right behind you!" she said. "Oh, and by the way, which one of us is Cerelon's personal physician again?"

"Go to hell Falton!" Dr. O'Malley said.

"You first Sunshine!" she said.

Catherine placed her hand on her stomach, as a dense knot formed there. She looked to the floor, her eyes lidded and said, "I think I'm going to be sick."

Tom looked over at Catherine and asked "What's wrong Cat?"

"It's just. I nearly cut that thing off of your face at the warehouse," Catherine said. "I could have killed you trying to save you! If it weren't for Captain Dillton you would be dead now!"

Tom pulled Catherine down into a tight hug, her hair spilling around his head. "It's ok Cat. You had no idea. I am just glad you were the one that found me. I'll be ok, understand?"

She nodded her head, and gave him a quick kiss before standing up, her hand still gripping Tom's.

Tom looked back and forth between Dr. Falton and Dr. O'Malley . He asked,"Not to interrupt, but how are you getting it out of me? Wont its acid blood make doing surgery very risky?"

Dr. O'Malley looked at Tom, and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Yes of course it's going to be risky!" he said. "That doesn't change the fact, that the surgery has far less risk then just letting it birth naturally."

"How does it normally birth any ways?" Tom asked.

"In the most fascinating way!"he said, grinning with excitement. "It secretes a chemical that slightly weakens the rib cage, then it pushes its way through to the outside. The very act of birthing will rip apart the connections to your arteries. You would be dead before it even fully emerges from your body! The sheer amount of blood lost would be astounding!"

"Holy shit!" Tom said, a shocked look on his face.

Dr. Falton swatted Dr. O'Malley's arm, and placed a hand on Tom's arm. "None of which will be happening," she said. "Because I and my team will be monitoring you constantly. The moment we see the chemical that weakens your rib cage get released in to your blood stream, you'll be in surgery."

"How are you going to do that?" Tom asked.

"Easily," she said. " With this."

Dr. Falton turned Tom's wrist over. There on the other side of the IV port bracelet, was a information port. She reached into the dispensary cart and pulled out a small and slightly curved, white device. It was a few inches long, and as wide as the bracelet. She placed the male information jack, into the port on the bracelet and snapped the device into place, its curve allowing it to fit seamlessly with the bracelet. On top was a small screen, featuring various informational readouts and selectable features. She tapped the screen a few times, and moments later, a short staggered series of audible beeps sounded from the device.

Dr. Falton released Tom's arm with a playful pat on his hand. "This device will constantly take readings of your blood, and transmit the data to my PDA. I have programmed the specific chemical we are looking for into the device, and the moment it is detected, a loud alarm will sound on my PDA," she said. "Of course I have also set it to notify Roy as well."

"What happens if the alarm goes off while everyone is sleeping?" Tom asked.

Dr. Falton glanced at Tom and then to Catherine. She said, "Don't worry about it going off at night and me not hearing it. I'll have it hooked up to a set of portable speakers. This thing will wake the dead when it goes off." She focused her gaze on Catherine. "Besides, the moment it goes off she will hear it and she can press the emergency button located next to your bed."

Catherine nodded her head. She said, "Ok, I can do that."

"Good! That way there are numerous layers of protection ensuring nothing tragic happens," Dr. Falton said, smiling softly.

"Thanks Dr. Falton, that makes me feel a bit better," Tom said. Tom looked over at Dr. O'Malley and asked,"Dr. O'Malley, will you be helping in the surgery?"

"Of course," he said. " I'll be monitoring the creatures vital signs and generally guiding Dr. Falton as she removes it from your chest. I will also be responsible for containing it as soon as it is cut from the amniotic sac."

Dr. O'Malley turned off the portable scanner and pushed it to the far corner of the room. After securing the scanning plate, he walked back over next to Dr. Falton. He said, "Well, if there is nothing else I am going to go back to the lab and get to work. I have lots to prepare for."

Tom sat up in the bed, and shook both Doctors hands. "Thank you both for all you're doing to help me. I truly appreciate it."

Dr. O'Malley briefly shook Tom's hand. With a polite smile he said, "Not a problem Mr. Maxton. It's not everyday that one gets the opportunity to participate in the making of history." Dr. O'Malley looked over at Catherine and nodded his head, a half smile forming briefly as he walked out the door.

As Dr. O'Malley walked down the hallway, he rolled his eyes. _"I am only helping this imbecile because I have to,"_ he thought, shaking his head.

Dr. Falton stood up and closed the dispensary cart. She said,"I need to get going as well. Need to make sure I have everything I need for the surgery."

Tom sat up in the bed, and shook Dr. Falton's hand. "Thanks Dr. Falton."

"No problem Mr. Maxton!"Dr. Falton said with a smile. "It's going to be a learning experience for me as much as it will be for Dr. O'Malley."

Catherine arched her brows, her lips briefly scrunched together at one side of her mouth. "That geek doesn't inspire much confidence. I'm glad you're working on Tom and not him."

"You and me both," she said. "He is such a dubious ass. He thinks he is God's gift to science, yet he has nothing to show for it. Thinks being a Xenobiologist makes him better then the rest of medical science," she said. "Yet me and my colleagues save lives while he is out studying the mating habits of alien baboons."

"You would think that if he spent more time studying humans, he would be able to interact with people a bit better," Tom said.

Catherine smiled widely as she playfully patted Tom's leg. "He might even get a first hand look a the mating habits of humans!" she said. "Which would be a eye opening experience for him, I'm sure."

"You said it best Catherine," Dr. Falton said. "He truly is a world class geek. Incredibly smart, but amazingly stupid all at the same time!"

Catherine slapped the bed laughing heartily. "I know a better nickname for him!" she said. "Instead of Sunshine, how about Zeek the Geek!"

The the uproarious laughter that erupted was loud and long. Dr. Falton rubbed her forehead, and Catherine buried her head in her arms across Tom's chest, as they laughed uncontrollably.

Dr. O'Malley was only half way down the hall when he stopped briefly. He grit his teeth, breathing heavily through flared nostrils, his face turning a bright red. _"Stupid bitch!"_ he thought. " _I swear I'll make her pay! I'll feed him to the fucking Xenomorph!"_ He balled his fist, and punched the wall. "Owe!" he said wincing in pain. He briefly rubbed his fist before continuing his walk to the labs.

As the the laughter in the examination room died down, Dr. Falton moved to door, stopping just before the threshold. " Speaking of the mating habits of Humans," she said, her gaze moving back and forth between Tom and Catherine. "No nookie for you two either."

Catherine groaned in frustration, her head tilted to the side, and brows furrowed. "Are you serious?" Catherine twirled her hair as she fidgeted in her seat. _"Oh great."_

Tom took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, finishing with a chuckle. "Oh joy!" he said. " I was hoping I could practice my celibacy a bit longer. Two years is not long enough!"

Dr. Falton shook her head and smiled. "I know you guys can't keep your hands off each other, but it's for the safety of both of you," she said. "For starters, the creature released all sorts of chemicals as well as some of it's own cells, most likely stem cells, into his blood stream. Until we determine weather or not they present a threat to him and to you, it is far safer that you abstain."

Dr. Falton looked at Tom, her eyes taking on a serious expression. "Lastly, due to the nature of the implantation, and the major arterial connections it made, we can't risk his blood pressure rising or sexual hormones being released into his blood stream. It may stimulate the creature to try and break out earlier and quicker then we can respond to and deal with."

"Alright Doctor, I understand," Tom said. " When do you think it will be safe?" he asked.

"Not until after the birth, that's for certain. I want to run more blood tests, and run the data through some computer simulations first,"Dr. Falton said. " Which shouldn't take but a few days at most. You might be cleared within as little as two days after birth. However I doubt you will be in any condition to want to do anything. Given how I am going to have to go in and retrieve the creature, you're going to be in a lot of pain."

"Well, there is no point in complaining about it," Tom said. "I have waited 2 years, I can wait a while longer."

Catherine closed her eyes, as she rubbed her forehead. _"This had better be a short wait."_

"Yep! Better safe then sorry!" Dr. Falton said. "Have a good evening, and I will check in with you later."  
Tom nodded his head as Dr. Falton walked out the door. "Thanks, cya later Doc."


	12. Chapter 12

As Tom laid sleeping with Catherine snuggled tightly against his shoulder, he begun to dream. He was in a dark place, a place seemingly with out gravity as he felt weightless. Despite the darkness he felt no fear, but safe and secure for his surroundings were comfortable and warm. In fact, the warmth seamed to surround him on all sides, like he was floating in a pool of warm water.

Tom could not help but feel comfortably relaxed as he floated aimlessly in the luke warm waters of the void. Time ticked by immeasurably while he relaxed in his dark bath. However inevitably, he could feel himself being pulled away from the pool of warmth and safety of the darkness as morning drew near and he begun to awake.

XXX

Catherine sat quietly on Tom's lap as she silently flipped through the news channels on the wall monitor. She looked down at him and shook her head, a half smile on her face. He was still sleeping, and was wearing a smile on his lips. She had woken up several times that night to check on him, and each time he had that same happy smile on his face. "Wonder what he is dreaming about?" she asked herself softly.

Having awoken a while ago, she was killing time before she had to say goodbye to Tom and go to the gym for some light training. _"As much as I don't want to leave, I still have to prepare for my fight on Saturday."_

About an hour later she felt Tom shifting in bed slightly as he began to stir. He yawned loudly as she stretched his arms wide before reaching up to pull her back down into his embrace. She tucked her arms to her chest as she laid against his chest, Tom's strong arms encircling her. She tilted her head up and briefly kissed his cheek before settling back down to lay against him.

After they finished their breakfast; a simple meal of oat meal for Catherine and a power smoothie and 2 large water bottles for Tom, Catherine hopped out of the bed and grabbed her workout bag.

"Where you going?" Tom asked.

"Oh, I am going to the gym. Going to be doing some light technical work most of the day today," she replied as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

Tom sat up in bed and said, "Oh I forgot you had a fight coming up on Saturday."

"Yep, and she's no slouch either. She's undefeated. Ten wins and no losses, so I have to be ready," Catherine said. She leaned down her free hand sliding around the back of Toms head, her fingers skimming through his hair as she pulled him into a kiss. Tom savored the sweet taste of her lips as their tongues gently wrestled together. Catherine sighed with a smile as their lips parted.

"Well have fun, I'll be here waiting for my baby to be born," Tom said with a grin.

Catherine playfully rubbed her forehead against Tom's with a giggle. "Ha! Very funny!" she said after kissing his forehead. "You keep calling that _thing_ your baby, and I will go get you some maternity clothing."

They both laughed at the comment, with Tom's laughter interrupted by some intermittent coughing.

Tom sat up and gave her bottom a quick swat, causing her to jump with a startled, "Ahh!"

"See you tonight Cat," Tom said as he gave her another quick hug.

"See you later Tom, take it easy huh. And try not to give that _thing_ any reason to come out early," she said as she stepped back from Tom. "Bye." She turned and walked towards the door, her hand staying in his until the last moment before being forced by the distance between them to let go.

"Bye sweets," Tom said as she left the room. She turned around briefly in the hallway and gave a quick wave good bye before disappearing down the hall and up the elevator.

It was mid afternoon, and Tom had just come back from a check up with Dr. Falton and Dr. O'Malley. They took scans of the embryo and noted its marked growth, now being about 10 inches long, and looking healthy. Tom noted to them that he was feeling more congested and had developed a minor cough, something they assured him was normal. They also upped the dosage of inorganic elements he received via his IV, as the increased size of the embryo was causing more drain on his system. Dr. O'Malley having gotten the blood sample and scan results he needed, he left to return to his lab.

Tom took note of Dr. O'Malley's cordial manner throughout the tests and remarked to Dr. Falton, "Well he was remarkably pleasant. No snide remarks or condescension."

Dr. Falton smiled as she typed into her medical PDA. "He had better be more pleasant if he knows what's good for him," she said. "After our initial meeting with you, we had a long talk with Mr. Cerelon. Who let him know that he is to be respectful and work as a equal member of this team."

Tom tilted his head at the Doctor, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. "All it took was a lecture from Mr. Cerelon?"

She looked at Tom with a mischievous grin,"Well, Mr. Cerelon may or may not have made a suggestion regarding him studying the inside of a Starwolves digestive track," she said as they both chuckled briefly.

Dr. Falton got up from her chair next to Tom, and walked over to a small white colored panel on the adjacent wall. She pressed a few buttons and the panel made a audible click noise. She pulled the small handle and when it opened, she reached inside and retrieved a small rectangular object. It was as wide as the palm of Tom's hand and nearly as thick. She then reached in and pulled out another rectangular object about as tall as Tom's hand. After closing the panel she walked back over to Tom.

She sat the items down on the small table next to Tom's bed, and used reached into the medical dispensary cart for some some disinfectant. "This is a sub-dermal cavity scanner. It has a range of small but sensitive sensors, and will pick up the bone weakening chemical faster," she said. "Now if you would, can you cover your unmentionable bits and lift your gown up to your neck for me?"

Tom tugged the covers over his lap and pulled his gown up. "What is that for?"

"It occurred to me last night, that releasing the bone weakening chemical into the bloodstream was too slow of a process for what is a quick and bloody birth," she said as she cleaned a small spot on his chest. "It would take hours for the chemical to circulate around the blood before it weakened the spot on the sternum that it births from normally. In that time, it would waste lots of the chemical weakening the rest of the skeleton needlessly. So I theorize it releases the chemical directly onto the sternum. This sub-dermal cavity scanner will detect it the moment it is released. It will be synced directly with the scanner on your IV port. The electrodes are smaller then a human hair and are flexible, so you shouldn't feel to much discomfort."

After injecting the spot with a local anesthetic, Dr. Falton then took the tall rectangular device and clicked it in place around the flat rectangular scanner. She placed the two devices on his chest and pressed a few buttons on the control screen.

"Now. I have set the scanner to seat the electrodes just below your pectoral muscles, within the space between your ribs, but safely away from your vital organs," she said as she pressed the final button that activated the scanner.

Tom braced himself for searing pain, but relaxed a moment later when none came. Instead all he felt was a sensation of heat and what felt like tiny tendrils slowly stabbing their way through the muscles in his chest. A few minutes later, the stabbing sensation had ceased and device let out a series of staggered beeps, indicating it was finished seating the electrodes.

Dr. Falton then pressed a few more buttons on the control screen and Tom could feel the hard sheaths that contained the electrodes withdrawing into the taller portion of the scanner body. A few more taps on the screen, had the taller rectangular structure attached to the scanner release from the scanners body. Leaving in its place a black band around the scanner that held in place the tiny electrodes.

She took Tom's arm which had the IV port and checked its status monitor. " There, the secondary scanner is fully synced with the primary and reporting to my system," she said, releasing Tom's arm and walking over to the panel on the wall. She quickly opened it and placed the tall rectangular device back into the slot designated for it, and shut the door.

Dr. Falton then picked up her PDA and walked over by the door. "Now, remember to eat as much as you can tolerate and keep hydrated. Don't do anything that will cause undue stress to the baby. We don't want it trying to come out prematurely to take a peek at the world. I will check on you again this evening." She turned the handle and stepped outside the door, but was stopped by Tom.

"Doctor, I noticed you called it a baby. Why?" he asked her. "I have been doing it more as a joke to annoy Catherine."

She looked back at Tom, a soft smile on her face. "Because it is a baby Tom. It's not inherently evil nor is it acting maliciously. It didn't choose how it is born into this world."

Tom rubbed the back of his head. He brought his other hand to his mouth and turned his head to cough into his shoulder. "Hmm. I have not thought about it like that before."

"Sometimes Tom, when you change your perspective you can change your views, or even your world."

"That is a lot to think about Doctor. I will give it some thought," he said as he reached for the remote control for the wall monitor.

"Good. Now I'll see you tonight,"she said with a soft smile.

"Cya later Doc," Tom said as he turned on the monitor. With a nod of her head she departed, her short heeled shoes clacking on the tile flooring as she left for her office.

Tom spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening watching the news. Most of it was mundane pop culture news that he didn't care about.

There was one story that caught his attention. A breaking news report regarding the reintroduction of honey bees to planet Earth. The last honey bee hives on Earth died nearly 300 years ago when conditions on Earth had deteriorated to much for them to survive. The predominance of mono-culture crops and the increasingly common usage of crops genetically modified with poisons had stressed the bees to the limit. The rising waters and destruction of most natural habitats had pushed them past the brink, and left honey bees dying at a astonishing rate.

Conditions on Earth were so bad, that the planet itself had to be terraformed to begin the process of restoring the ecosystem. With no pollinators most plants could not thrive. So a alliance of mega corporations and the United Systems Government began a initiative to grow more hives and seed them on Earth.

"That is amazing!" Tom said as he watched the massive cargo ships descend over several parts of Earths surface, most of them settled on North and South America, Europe and the Asian continent. With a few touching down in Australia and Africa. Moments after they touched down, the massive bay doors opened and Trillions of bees begun to filter out into the world. During the previous year, provinces in each country began replanting all the vegetation that was lost when the bees died out. The replanting in of itself was a major undertaking, requiring most of the plants to be grown off world and shipped to Earth in stasis.

"That is amazing," Dr. Falton said as she walked in the room. "Just look at it Tom. The ecosystem is really starting to thrive thanks to the hard work of the bees. Just goes to show you how interdependent everything in nature really is."

Tom looked over to Dr. Falton and smiled. "Hey Doc." He pressed a button on the remote and turned off the wall monitor.

She nodded her head in greeting. "So, how are you feeling tonight?" she asked. She walked over to his IV port scanner and checked on its function and cross checked the data with the information streaming on her PDA.

Tom cleared his throat with a few tepid coughs. "Well I am feeling a bit more congested then I did this morning, and my cough is a bit worse as well," he said as he gently rubbed his chest with his fingertips."I am also feeling tired, been feeling tired since this afternoon. In fact I am probably going to sleep after you leave."

Satisfied with the function of the scanner, she turned and faced Tom. "Well that is to be expected given the large amount of stress your body is under. So nothing to worry about there," she said. She brought up her PDA and typed a few commands into it and then headed for the door. "I am having another bed brought down. Now that I have that scanner on your chest, I do not want Catherine sleeping on you. She could damage the device and we can't have that."

Tom nodded his head in agreement. "I understand, and I am sure she will as well."

"Oh I am sure she will," Dr. Falton said. She ran he fingers through her hair and brushed a strand behind her ear. "She really seams to care for you. You're a lucky man."

"Thanks Doc. I am also lucky to have you looking after me as well."

"No problem," she said with a smile, and with a simple nod of her head she left for the evening.

It was not even a few minutes later that Tom felt the pull of sleepiness upon his eyelids. He pressed a button on his beds control panel and the lights in the room instantly dimmed, and he fell asleep quickly after shutting his eyes.

XXX

It had been a long day for Catherine. She had spent most of it doing light technical training at the gym in preparation for her fight. It wasn't exhausting work, but it was tedious. Hours filled with endless repetitions of drills designed to keep her in top fighting condition. She was more then ready to settle down in Tom's arms and relax for the rest of the evening. So it was a bit of a shock when she was met by the nurse the moment she stepped off the elevator in Cerelon's mansion.

"Excuse me miss!" called the nurse in a friendly tone. She was a older lady wearing pink and blue scrubs. Her soft features were marred only by the encroaching crows feet that bordered her eyes and mouth. With strawberry blond hair and soft brown eyes, she reminded Catherine of her mother.

Catherine stopped and looked at the lady. "Yes?" she asked, as she adjusted her large workout bag on her shoulder.

The nurse brought her medical charting PDA up to turned it around so Catherine could see it. "I wanted to let you know that Dr. Falton has brought a separate bed down for you to sleep on."

Catherine raised an eyebrow in curiosity and asked, "Hmm? Why?"

The nurse tucked her PDA into her pocket, her tone turning apologetic. "It is nothing bad, it's just, the Doctor is using a new sensor on Mr. Maxton. One that is implanted in the skin of his chest, and if you sleep on his chest you may dislodge it."

"Oh!" Catherine said, raising both of her eyebrows. "What's it do?"

"She told me it's a far more accurate way to detect the chemical that weakens bone integrity," the nurse said with a friendly smile.

Catherine returned the smile and nodded her head. "Ahh ok," she said. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Yep, no problem. Just thought I would tell you now instead of you walking into the room and finding out the hard way," she said patting Catherine on the shoulder.

Catherine smiled and with a nod of her head, proceeded down the hall. As she neared the examination room were Tom was staying, she noticed that his lights had been turned off. She stopped momentarily when she walked through the door, and smiled softly when she saw that Tom was sleeping peacefully. She took note of the small but comfortable looking Cot that had been brought in for her. It was already made up with simple white sheets and a soft brown cover.

Catherine walked over to Tom and leaned over his bed slightly and gently kissed him on the forehead. She glanced down and pulled his gown up slightly to take a quick look at the new sensor implanted in his chest. After looking at the sensor, she brought her hand to his cheek, brushing it softly with her fingertips. She lingered there for a minute gently stroking his hair and smiling softly. "Good night Tommy."

Satisfied he was doing ok, she crawled into her cot and pulled the covers to her chest. Sleep came quickly after her head hit the soft down pillows supplied for her.

XXX

As Tom lay asleep his mind had slipped into another dream. Like the previous night he found himself in the dark void, weightless and fully immersed in what felt like warm bath water. As he floated aimlessly, comfortable and relaxed he heard a soft rhythmic sound, that he recognized as a heartbeat.

Tom smiled as he listened to the steadfast beating of the heart, floating in the warm darkness, happy and content.

After a immeasurable amount of time had past he felt his mind being pulled back into the realm of the waking. Before his mind completely left the realm of dreams, he felt something touch him. In that brief moment he knew there was another presence in the dream alongside him. He had no time to contact it as his mind faded from the realm of dreams, and was brought back to reality.

XXX

Tom awoke the next morning with a smile on his face as he thought about the pleasant dream. He also wondered what that other presence was and why it was with him in his warm dark dream. _"The big question is, how did I know it was even there?"_ he thought. _"I guess I'll never know. There's something's even science can't explain."_

He sat up and looked to the right and noticed Catherine sleeping on her cot. He coughed intermittently as he gazed at her sleeping form. "To bad she couldn't sleep with me last night.. It's ok though, just a few more days then its all over," he said with a whisper. Soon he felt the call of nature and hopped out of his bed, taking his IV stand with him to the restroom.

After relieving himself Tom stood at the sink. Having washed his hands, he looked for a way to clean up the rest of him. He looked around the well kept restroom and spotted a cabinet. Upon opening the wooden cabinet he found numerous toiletry supplies. Everything from toilet paper to soaps and disinfectants were contained within. What caught his eye was a small rectangular plastic package on the right side of the third shelf.

"Ah, scented wet wipes!" he said, grabbing the small plastic package. "This should help me smell less like a vagabond." After wiping down his arms, legs and other extremities , he discarded the used wet wipes and headed back to his room.

Tom sat on Catherine's cot drinking his power smoothie. "So what are you working on today at the gym?" Tom asked as he took another long sip of his smoothie.

"Well, aside from the normal striking and clinching drills, we will be focusing on take downs and take down defense today," she said zipping up her large workout bag.

"That sounds like a good time. Bummed I can't be there," Tom said as he finished his smoothie.

"Nah, don't sweat it. Soon as you have recovered we can get you back in the gym and up to speed. You have to be patient though and let yourself heal," she said.

Catherine leaned over and turned Tom's face towards her, and planted a soft lingering kiss on his lips. "Besides, you don't want to work out hard to soon after a surgery like this. You risk being more susceptible to injury. You don't want to loose any more time then you have. Already."

Tom smiled as gently massaged the back of her hair. He raised his hand to his lips and covered his mouth as he coughed briefly. " I know your right Cat. It's just I am getting bored."

"I know you are sweetheart, but if you rush back to soon you will hurt yourself. That will cost you even more time off then if you had just rested till you were fully recovered," she said, shouldering her work out bag. "Trust me, that is a lesson I had to learn the hard way when first started training. I would just go and go and go with out stopping for proper rest. Soon I was always tired and cranky and I was not recovering from injuries quickly. So that is when I decided to actually take my instructors advice and take time off to recover. So take it from me and just rest."

"Tom looked at her with a shy smile, his expression clearly showed his concern. He asked, "Are you sure I wont loose to much ground?"

"Stop worrying!" she said, taking his face in her hands and bringing it close to hers. "You will be fine. You may loose a bit of cardiovascular and strength performance, but I promise you will get it back very quickly. It's not like you're spending years on a couch. It's just a few weeks. You will bounce back very quickly."

Catherine brought his lips on hers in another languid kiss. "Well hey, I have to get going Alec will be waiting for me. You know how he is during fighter prep," she said as their lips separated.

They stood up and Tom gave her a quick hug, enjoying the feeling of her soft hair as he ran his fingers through it. "See you later Cat, have fun at the gym."

"Oh I will," she said as she moved to the door. "And when you get back to the gym, it will be your turn to have fun. I will enjoy making you sweat!"

"I am sure you will!" Tom said with a smile. Catherine returned the smile and gave him a suggestive wink. They waved quickly to each each other and Catherine disappeared out the door and up the hallway.

Tom sat down on his bed and turned the wall monitor on to catch some morning news. Watching the talking heads argue about the latest budget agreement made for a effective distraction from boredom as the hours ticked by till his next checkup with the Doctors.


	13. Chapter 13

"Have you seen the latest scan's?" Dr. Falton asked as she walked in to the lab. "It has nearly doubled its weight, and is more then 50% larger then the last scan."

Seated at his desk pouring over volumes of data on his computer, Dr. O'Malley turned around in his chair. "Yes I am just going over the data now. It's a interesting development," he said dryly. " It seems the little Xenomorph is beginning to thrive. I honestly didn't expect it to grow that much in two days considering how weak the Ovamorph was."

"Speaking of that, have you learned anything more about it?" she asked as she took the seat in front of the computer next to Dr. O'Malley.

"Sadly not much. Based on my autopsy of it I was able to make a few observations. First, that it was incredibly old, as much of it was calcified. Though how old, I will never be able to say with any reliability. Secondly, that much of its circulatory system is missing. I theorize that it sacrificed its own system to build the placenta and all its connections to Mr. Maxton's blood stream."

"Really?" she asked, a shocked look on her face. "When do you think it did that? It couldn't possibly have done that at the beginning, as it would not have lived as long as it did to finish implantation."

"Astute observation Doctor. That is my opinion as well. I personally feel and will note as my official observation that it must have sacrificed its own circulatory system right before it detached from Mr. Maxton's face," he said. He tapped the screen of his computer and a minute later had brought up a 3d hologram of the Ovamorph. Tapping the screen again, the sickly grey and spotted exterior dissolved, showing the interior of the creature. With a swipe of his hand the floating hologram rotated on its side to face both the Doctors.

"There, you can see the heart," Dr. Falton said pointing to the center of the image. "Look at that, most of the connections from what I can guess is a respiratory structure are missing."

"I noticed that as well," he said. He tapped the screen a few times and ended the holographic program. "After you remove the creature from Mr. Maxton, I want all the excavated viscera so I can compare what remained with the innards of the Ovamorph."

Dr. Falton smiled as she turned on her computer and opened the file containing the latest blood tests. "Sure thing. I was going to strip it all out of him any ways. You might as well have it," she said with a sideways glance. "Though there is one more thing. I want to tranquilize it before I cut the cords and finalize the removal."

Dr. O'Malley took his glasses off and looked at her, a quizzical look on his face. "I don't see why that would be a problem. Would remove any chance it escaping."

"And any chance of it hurting anyone,"she added. "The question is how can I inject tranquilizer into the creature if its blood will melt the syringes?"

Dr. O'Malley looked up to the ceiling as his mind was far away in contemplation. A minute went by with him just rubbing his scalp, a puzzled look on his face. "How about having your instruments bonded in T-09? That Teflon derivative is strong enough to withstand Fluoroantimonic acid. That should allow your tools enough resilience to inject the tranquilizer into the Xenomorph's placenta directly. Closer to the fetus the better."

"Are you sure it will work?" she asked, standing up from the desk.

"Of course it will work. Teflon has one of the strongest bonds in all of organic chemistry," he said with a hint of smugness in his voice. "Just make sure you have as many tools as you can treated and you should be able to finish your part of the birth with out incident."

Dr. Falton grabbed her PDA, and stood there with her arms crossed. "All right. I'll trust you on this. Don't make me regret it. It's not just our careers on the line, but Tom's life as well."

"Relax Doctor, why would I mislead you on this?" he asked her. He stood up and patted her on the shoulder. "We both need him alive after the surgery to study him. He will be among the first humans to survive a implantation. That in of itself warrants further study of the host."

"Ok," she said, her voice containing just a hint of distrust. "I am going to go talk to Roy and get all the instruments bonded right away." With out another word, she turned and walked out of the room.

Dr. O'Malley rolled his eyes with a not so subtle shake of his head as he sat back down at his computer. "I need him alive for now, to cement my legacy," he said to himself coldly. "Only for now that is," he said chuckling softly to himself. The sounds of fingers tapping on his monitor screen filled the air as he continued his research.

XXX

Catherine sat at the end of Tom's bed and shook her head as she watched the movie playing on the wall monitor. "What a stupid movie," she said derisively. "I hate martial arts flicks. They never get the fighting right. What do you think Tom?" she asked. Hearing no answer she looked behind her. When she saw that he was fast asleep, she hopped off the bed and pressed two buttons on his bed controller, turning off the monitor and dimming the lights.

She walked over to Tom, and smiled as she softly kissed his forehead, her fingers brushing his forehead softly. "Good night Tom."

After crawling into her cot, she was fast asleep just moments after he head found rest on the soft pillows.

That night Tom's dreams again found himself swimming in the familiar warm waters of the dark void. Aside from the familiar sound of a heart beating, he also felt the presence of the other. He felt a surge of happiness and joy coming from the other being at his presence.

As the being drew near to him, he felt it get more excited. Soon he felt warm tendrils enveloping him, embracing him to his very core. Tom could feel the connection of the beings feelings with him as the happier it got, the warmer he felt. The being seemed to be happy just holding him in its embrace. Tom felt like he was rocking back and forth, like a mother would to a sleeping child in her arms. It was as if he were being held by a angel. A beautiful dark angel whom he could not see with his eyes, but saw only with his heart, illuminated by the warmth of the beings happiness and joy.

Hours ticked by without measure as Tom rested in the embrace of the being residing in his dreams. He didn't understand how he knew how it felt, or why but he didn't care. None of that mattered to him now. All that mattered in those moments was the purity of the happiness and warmth he felt pouring into him from the excited being.

Soon though, the happiness that poured from the being to Tom was replaced with fear and sadness as it was pulled from his own embrace. They both tried to cling to one another, but found they had no strength to resist the pull of his mind as he was slowly taken away from the dreamworld.

Tom awoke that morning with a heavy heart, and tears streaming down his face. He hated to leave the dream and the warm embrace of its happy occupant. He only gave a passing thought to the question of how he knew how the being felt, but those thoughts were placed on the back burner. All he longed for now was to be back into the realm of dreams, and back into the warm embrace of the dark angel he found there. It took a few minutes for Tom to compose himself and get his tears under control. It was only then that a few things become immediately noticeable to him, aside from a mild headache.

For starters he was very tired, and felt like he could take a good long nap despite just waking up. Secondly he also noticed that his chest was even more congested then at any time prior. It felt as if someone had placed a large rock in the center of his chest. He also wondered why the back of his bed was elevated. He had tried to lay it flat but found that he could feel the large embryo pressing into his spine, which was a strange feeling for Tom. It also became even harder to breathe then it already was. So he sat the bed back up into its upright position, which brought a measure of relief from the tightness in his chest.

XXX

Having awoken about an hour after Tom, Catherine sat next to him in bed with her arm around his shoulders. "Come on baby, you gotta drink it," she said as she held the large cup containing his power smoothie in front of him.

Tom gently pushed the cup away with a grimace on his face. "I can't Cat. I just don't have any room."

She brushed his hand aside, and brought the cup back up to his face, a stern look on her face. "Your Doctor said you had to drink this, now drink up," she said. Soon her stern face had melted into a sad pout face, complete with furrowed eye brows and puffed out lips. "Please, for me," she said softly while batting her eye lashes at him.

Tom smiled at her and took the cup in his hands. "Fine, I'll take a few sips," he said as he pressed the cup to his lips, taking a long drink from it.

Catherine kissed his cheeks, giggling playfully. "Thanks Tommy. I just knew my feminine wiles would convince you to do the right thing!"

"Ha!" Tom said with a laugh in between sips of his drink. Catherine giggled loudly as Tom's free hand had crept up behind her and was tickling her sensitive underarms.

"Ok, I give up!I I give up!" she cried loudly as she writhed under his touch. He ceased his ticklish onslaught and pulled her closer to him. She gave him a playful half smile, half scowl before tweaking his nose with her fingers.

Catherine and Tom laughed loudly at their antics, but the exertion forced Tom to turn his head as a violent coughing fit ensued. "Ok, Take it easy now baby. I don't want you over exerting yourself," she said softly to him. Tom simply nodded his head in agreement.

In the hours that passed, Tom could only get through about half of his smoothie. He just couldn't get any more of the thick liquid into his stomach. He chalked it up to the rather large baby now residing in his chest cavity. He placed the half empty cup on the tray next to his bed and simply wrapped his arms around Catherine, pulling her head down onto his shoulder. Catherine had taken today off from training as a rest day before tomorrows fight, and he was grateful to have her near.

Tom kissed her head, as she rested on his shoulder. He closed his eyes, intent on catching a much needed nap, when he heard a ear splitting siren. He opened his eyes, and Catherine shot up from her spot on his shoulder. The loud siren was coming from the special sensor on his wrist. Catherine grabbed his wrist and stared at the read out. On the screen, the read out displayed its warning that the unknown bone weakening chemical had been detected.

"Oh SHIT it's time!" she exclaimed. She hit the panic button on Tom's bed controller, and hopped down to stand next to him, as alarms sounded all up and down the hall.

She could see he was starting to get scared, as he tried to sit up. "No no Tom, stay down. Just relax. You will be fine I promise," she said into his ear, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back down gently.

A moment later, Dr. Falton and a team of orderlies came into the room with a stretcher. "Ok Tom, stay calm. It's time for the birth." she said. "Soon as you're sedated well have you in surgery and that baby out of your chest." A moment later he felt a slight sting on his neck as she pressed in a syringe. As his eyes became heavy, he felt many strong hands lift him from his bed and onto the stretcher, with Catherine's soft hands holding his head. "Ok. Surgical team Alpha is standing by in Med-Surge 3. You're free to go to the observation deck and watch," she said to Catherine.

Catherine simply shook her head in acknowledgment as they began to wheel Tom to surgery. As the world began to fade from view, Tom heard Catherine call out loudly to him. "I love you Tom!" was all he heard before the world faded from view.

Tom again found himself in the dark void and in the warm embrace of the dark angel. She was even more excited then the last time she felt him. Its overflowing happiness seemed to only be overshadowed by the beings growing excitement.

Tom laid there in the beings embrace, content to rest there forever. However their happiness was soon cut short as the being was pulled from his arms. He tried to hold on to it, but had no strength to keep it with in his grasp. The warmth of its embrace was replaced with cold emptiness. Tom felt anguish and sorrow at the loss of the dark angel and the warmth of its presence, as he floated cold and alone in the void.

XXX

She awoke in a strange place. Immediately she knew something was wrong, as she was alone and felt emptiness in her mind. The safe and comforting feelings she instinctively knew should be coming to her from the Mother and her Sisters' was missing. She could feel her small chest tightening as the first twinges of fear set in as she reached out to the family she knew should be there. Each time she tried to reach out with her mind, she received no reply, which exacerbated her growing anxiety.

Cautiously, she looked around and noticed that she was inside some kind of small metallic cave. It was shaped like a square and closed on all ends save one, the front, which was open. She peered out from the small cave, and found that she was in the middle of a much larger cavern. It was dark and foreboding in the large cavern, save for one bright light in the center, with shadows concealing the corners.

She felt the need to step out of her small cave and get a better view of the large cavern beyond, but as she tried to move she felt oddly constrained. Something was wrapped around her whole body that was soft and warm, but not like the warm pool she remembered. She looked down and saw that her body was wrapped in something fluffy and white. Long and as soft as the Mother's silk, it was wrapped tightly from her tail to her abdomen. While not the same as being in the embrace of the _One_ , it was comforting none the less. After a while she wiggled free of the silk and slithered out of her small cave.

She shivered at the sudden coolness of the air outside in the large cavern. She took note that this was not a natural cavern given its metallic construction and unnatural straight lines. She still could not feel her Sisters' or the Mother, so she called out to them. She thought that maybe her link to the hive had not fully matured, so she would try to reach them with her voice. At first she simply sounded a soft squeak and waited for a response she knew should come. When some more time went by and she did not hear anything, she called out again, this time with a louder screech. She repeated this process a few more times, getting louder and screeching longer each time.

She nearly panicked as she tried to reach out to the _One_ with her mind _,_ but she could not find him. He was gone from her, seemingly stolen by the cold hands that pulled her from the warmth of his embrace. The only thing she could feel from him was that he was still alive, were he was or how far away she had no way of knowing.

She sensed the presence of others near her. She turned around and saw a great number of tall creatures she did not recognize, staring at her through some kind of clear rock. Feeling exposed and afraid of the large things, she quickly slithered back to the safety of her small cave, and hid underneath the warm silk.

She let out a high pitched stuttered moan as she rocked herself to sleep. She mourned the loss of the _One._ She had hoped to meet him, and curl up in his embrace once more, but the cold hands of the strange figures robbed this from her. She had one small measure of comfort knowing that the _One_ was still alive. For it was this one small reprieve that kept her sanity from falling off the brink.


	14. Chapter 14

Tom woke up to the steady beeping of the heart monitor next to his bed. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to blink away the sleepiness that weighed against his eyelids. Feeling something clasp his hand, he looked down and saw a familiar hand holding his. Looking beyond the hand, he saw the smiling visage of Catherine looking down at him.

"Hey," she whispered to him as she caressed his cheek.

Tom smiled briefly as he looked up at her through lidded eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something but she silenced him by putting her finger to his lips. "Don't speak love, just get some rest," she said, as she ran her hands through the hair on the back of Tom's head.

She leaned down and rested her forehead against his. He could feel her warm, mint scented breath on his face as she whispered to him. "I am so glad you're ok." She tilted her head down and gave him a quick kiss before sitting back down beside him, her hand holding his once more as he drifted back to sleep.

Tom spent the majority of the next day, Saturday, in and out of sleep. Catherine stayed by his side, tending to his needs and keeping him company during his waking moments.

Later that evening, Catherine was standing beneath the fighters cage inside the sprawling Combat Complex. The Combat Complex was connected via underground tunnels to four surrounding warehouses, including Warehouse 7, which served as housing for the fighting animals of Cerelon and off world competitors.

Catherine watched with excitement as her teammate Tasia landed a spinning heel kick to the side of her opponents head. The blow sent her opponent sprawling to the canvas unconscious, blood seeping from a cut on her temple.

"Better watch those high kicks Tasia. They leave you vulnerable to having your supporting leg kicked out, or taken down with a single leg dump if they time it right," she said to herself, making note to talk to her about it later in the week. She watched as the medics came and dragged the broken females body away, and the referee lifted Tasia's hand and announced her as the winner, to the cheers of the crowd.

Catherine looked up and back at the crowd, which was standing on their feet cheering, and shook her head with a smile. Just in the front row was a short, fat man with no shirt on, cheering and beating his chest like a gorilla at Tasia's victory. He had body paint covering chest with the message, _Just Bleed!_ "What an obnoxious turd. I bet that moron has never trained a day in his life!" she said to herself as she shook her head in disgust.

Taking her place next to Alec, whom, along with Tasia, had come down from the cage. She noted that this would be a long night. There were fighters here from all over Goran, and from several neighboring planets, not to mention the animal fights that were on the card for later. Cerelon's Starwolves never failed to disappoint the crowds blood lust.

As the next two contestants, these from schools on neighboring planets, took to the cage, Alec and Tasia walked up to Catherine, a large travel bag was slung over Alec's shoulders.

"Way to go Tasia!" Catherine said as she gave the other woman a high five. "That was a impressive kick! You could hear the crack from down here!"

Tasia took a water bottle from the cooler next to the bench and sat down next to Catherine. She looked down at the her with a face full of excitement, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks! I never would have normally tried such a risky kick, but I saw the opening and went for it. High risk but really high reward!"

"Well it worked, that chick didn't even see it coming!"Catherine said. "It was lights out before she even hit the canvas!"

Alec cleared his throat, and adjusted the gear bag on his shoulder before addressing the ladies. "Not to interrupt girls,"Alec said. "But Cat has to get ready."

"You're up soon. Just got a few fights to go before they call your name. So let's get back to the locker room and get you warmed up and your hands wrapped," he said, offering Catherine his hand and helping her up from her seat.

Tasia reached out clasped Catherine's forearm, prompting Catherine to look at her. "Good luck tonight Cat!"

Catherine patted her hand and smiled back at the ebony skinned female, "Thanks Tasia."

Catherine nodded to Alec and they both headed back to the locker room. After changing into her fighting outfit; a grey compression t-shirt and black shorts, she spent the remaining time doing easy paced punching drills on the training mitts with Alec. Half way through a long string of attacks on the mitts, she heard her rock anthem playing on the Complexs loud speakers.

"That's our cue," Alec said as he fastened on Catherine's black colored and tight fitting, finger-less MMA gloves. He asked, "Nervous?"

Catherine was bouncing on her toes, trying to take her mind off the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach. "Always," she said, as she circled her arms trying to stretch out her shoulders.

Alec turned and faced her, grabbing her by both shoulders he stopped her bouncing, and looked her square in the eyes. "Don't be. Just don't show off and screw around, and you will get the W. Don't go chasing her hands trying to trap them. Just clear her punch's or parries and take the clear shot. Don't play patty cake with her trying to mimic our ancient Grand Master Bruce Lee."

"Got it," she said, as she took one final sip of water.

"Good," Alec said as they walked out of the locker room.

They proceeded down the long isle way, which was lined with thousands of fans cheering for her. They climbed up the steps, into the large chain link octagon, which was sat upon a large platform.

Catherine approached the center of the octagon, and stood before her raven haired opponent. One that she noticed happen to look vaguely like Cara.

The referee took both girls gloves and held them against each other as he issued the rules of the fight. While he droned on, she felt wariness pull at the back of her mind. Something about this woman's body language was setting her on edge. It may have been the twitchy way she stood in front of her, or the smirk she wore upon her face. She didn't know what it was that was bothering her about this fighter, but she knew she would soon find out.

"Get it on!" the referee shouted as he stepped back and began the match.

Catherine extended her left hand to touch the other fighters gloves, as a gesture of sportsmanship. However, instead of touching her glove in return, the raven haired fighter through a punch at her head, that Catherine just managed to block with her forearm. _"So that's how this bitch is gonna play!"_ Catherine thought.

She recovered from the attack only to face a swarm of punches from her opponent, forcing her to take small retreating steps backwards. As she was too close to use her arts deflection techniques, she had to duck and slip as many punches as she managed to absorb on her forearms.

As the raven haired woman pressed her attack, Catherine was dangerously close to backing into the cage and becoming trapped. She hesitated one half second, forcing her opponent closer. The raven haired girl responded by throwing a left overhand shot that Catherine bobbed and wove out of.

Catherine saw her opponents other hand drop a bit, her shoulder jerking backwards a few inches as the raven haired girl threw a right hook at Catherine's jaw. Seeing the girls attack coming, Catherine stepped forward and to the left, ducking under the hook, and slamming her fist into the girls chest, while stepping behind her opponent. She popped back up behind raven haired girl and shoved her towards the fence.

Catherine closed the distance between them, as the girl turned around and through a straight right hand punch at Catherine's face. She parried the attack with her left hand, while simultaneously punching her with her in the face with a right, rocking the woman's head back.

Seeing her opponents other shoulder move out of the corner of her eye, she threw her right arm out in angle, deflecting a another straight left from the girl, and countering with a left hook of her own to the girls body. Catherine followed this with a right upper cut to her jaw, momentarily stunning her opponent. The raven haired opponent recovered enough to wrap up both of Catherine's arms in a clinch, and kneed Catherine in the chest.

Catherine gasped for air, her heart pounding, as a wave of pain shot through her chest. Seeing the girl rear her leg back to launch another knee attack, Catherine shifted her body backward a few inches, while chopping her hand downwards connecting with the fleshy part of the thigh above her opponents knee, stopping the blow.

Catherine then ran her right arm under her opponents right arm, which had a tight hold on her left, and broke the woman's grip on her left arm and pushed it to right, freeing her from the woman's grip.

Catherine then launched a furious assault of her own, by first throwing a tight left hook to the woman's body. Catherine could feel the ribs cracking under her gloves as her fist struck home. Catherine pressed her attack even harder, with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts up and down the girls face and body. The raven haired woman managed to block most of them with her forearms covering her face. Catherine launched a series of left and right hooks at her face, were her opponent again blocked them. Seeing the woman's arms raised to defend her head, Catherine reared her left leg back and drove her knee into the area of the ribs that protected her liver, the ribs fracturing under the strong blow.

Her opponent doubled over gasping for air, her hands clutching her chest, which Catherine responded to by throwing a horizontal left elbow strike to her face. The blow shattered her eye socket, and sprayed blood all over both of them. Catherine continued to throw blow after blow to the woman, all of which were now unanswered as she slumped to the canvas, her blood pooling around her head.

Before Catherine could continue her assault the referee jumped between them, shoving Catherine away form the bloody and unconscious fighter.

Catherine took her mouth piece out of her mouth and glared at her opponent, whom was still unconscious and bleeding from the gaping wound on her face. "Disrespectful cunt!" she called out to her opponent before walking back to her corner.

The workers unlocked the cage and Alec came in with his gear bag. He took a white towel out of his bag and began to wipe the blood off of Catherine's face and arms.

"Great job Catherine!" he said to her as he continued to clean off the blood.

"Thanks! Oh my god that was a great fight!" she shouted, her face awash with excitement.

Alec then removed her gloves and took out a pair of scissors, and cut the gauze wrappings off her hands. He looked back to her opponent and shook his head at the sight. She was still unconscious, blood now dribbling out of her mouth as well as from the wound on her face. "Jesus Cat, I think you just ended that girls career!"

Catherine glanced over at her and then back to Alec. "Oh I hope not. She was a great opponent," she said, her voice bearing the slightest hints of sarcasm.

The paramedics having bandaged her wounds, loaded the raven haired woman on a stretcher and wheeled her out of the cage. Her coach and fellow team mates followed close behind her.

"Were are they taking her?" Catherine asked to Alec as they exited the cage and rejoined their team on the sidelines.

Alec looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I think she is going to the hospital. She likely will need reconstructive surgery."

Despite her opponents attempt at fighting dirty, and how angry it made her, Catherine felt a slight pang of guilt and sadness. She really was the best she has ever faced, and felt remorse over the prospect of possibly destroying her career. " I hope she will be ok," she said in a soft tone. "Maybe I will visit her tomorrow, and check up on her and wish her well."

Alec finished packing his gear bag, he turned and smiled. "That would be nice. Let her know there is no hard feelings," he said patting her on the shoulder.

"Alright I will do it," she said to him. Alec nodded his head and with drew his arm from her shoulder.

Having finished picking up all the fight gear, the team returned to locker rooms to shower and get dressed.

XXX

"Christ! She is doing it again!" Alec growled as he leaned against a rail overlooking the dance floor below. "Damn her! You'd think she would learn after what happened last time!"

Earlier, after the fights, they met for dinner to celebrate their success as a team. After that, they all went their separate ways. Alec however, decided that he would follow her at a distance. He had hoped and prayed she would avoid this tradition of hers this time, but his gut told him otherwise. He had to protect his gym and its reputation, and the fallout of her actions could reflect badly on on him. Especially with the visit from the Jan Dul instructor looming on the horizon.

Upon arrival, she had gone to the bar and ordered her usual celebratory drink. Five shots of Top Shelf Tequila Sunrise, with a full dose of the drug _Party Time_ mixed in. It was a drug similar to ecstasy, but with the added effect of causing a significant increase in the production of several hormones. Usually leaving the user aroused and open to suggestion.

"Why does she have to do _Party Time_?" he said shaking his head. He tapped the screen of his watch, adjusting the settings of his recording program, before pointing back to the dance floor below. "She knows what that shit does to her by now!"

Down on the dance floor, he could see the effects of the drug beginning to take affect as sweat poured off her head. She writhed and shook her bottom against the unfamiliar man she was dancing with. She did so with a goofy grin on her face, as she ran her hands down his face, and over his chest.

Alec pounded his fist on the rail as he watched her. She pulled the mans head down and begin to kiss his neck. It did not take long for the mans hands to wander down her back and begin squeezing her bottom, eliciting a burst of giggles from her.

It was not long after, that she took his hand off her rump and lead him off the dance floor, and to the exit.

"Well shit, that happened," Alec said. He turned from the rail and turned off his recording program. He moved to a quiet corner so that he could talk in some privacy. Once he found a suitable spot, he opened a call to Tasia.

A moment later, the call connected and her smiling face appeared on the screen.

"Yo Alec, whats up?" she asked, moving a stray lock of hair from her face.

"Can you meet me at my car tomorrow morning, early? Say six AM?" he asked her.

She grimaced as she thought about the request, taking a sip from a bottle of beer. "Damn man, Why so early?"

"Something's come up, and I need you to back me up," he said.  
She noticed that his expression was serious, his brows furrowed, a angry look in his eyes.

"What's going on Alec?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

His eyes narrowed as he gave his response, "I don't want to go into detail here, so I'll explain it when you meet me. But it is important that you meet me. Can I count on you?"

Tasia closed her eyes with a sigh as she rubbed her forehead. After a minute she replied, "Ok fine, I'll meet you, but this had better be good. Cause that is damned early for me."

Alec laughed and nodded his head to her. "Don't worry about that Tasia, things are going to get interesting. Oh and I'll bring you a case of _Strikers,_ chilled."

"Oh those are my favorites! How did you know?" she asked.

"They're the only energy drinks I ever see you drink. Did you think I didn't pay attention to my fighters and their habits?" he asked her, a smile again forming on his lips.

"Ok, see ya at six AM. God I hope I don't regret this," she said with a sigh.

"Thanks Tasia, see you in a few hours," he said. She nodded her head and he ended the call, and headed for his car.

Alec's mind was racing as he drove home. How would this affect the moral and camaraderie at the gym? More then that, how would this affect his friend, one whom was just coming out of their shell?

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white, his face flushed with anger as he grit his teeth. "God damn her! It took me months to rebuild our reputation the last time she did this. I will not let her destroy my gym!"

XXX

Tasia pulled up to the spot emailed to her by Alec. She spotted his car, and pulled up next to it. As she got out of her car, another car next to her own rolled down one of its tinted windows. In side this other car was Alec.

She stepped out of her car and was greeted by the rush of crisp air upon her face, her long ebony hair flowing in the lazy breeze that was blowing.

"Get in," he said, as he opened the passenger side door.

"Were did you get this car?" she asked as she sat down and closed the door.

"I borrowed it from a friend," he said as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

As they drove to the East Side, she sipped on one of the cold _Stingers_ that Alec had brought, while he explained what was going on. She watched the video on Alec's watch in silence, a frown forming on her face as time marched by.

She handed his watch back to him, and turned to look out the window. They were entering one of the nicer apartment complexes on the Upper East Side. As the car came to a stop she noticed they were about a block away from the apartment of her teammate. She recognized her teammates car, but the car parked next to it though was not one she knew.

Tasia turned to Alec a look of puzzlement on her face. "Why would she do this?"

Alec turned to her and said, "I don't know, but I can tell you it's not the first time."

She arched her brow when she heard that. "What do you mean? Has she hooked up with people on the side while dating someone else before?"

Alec nodded his head. "Yes," he said. "It tends to revolve around her fights though. She wins a fight, so she celebrates by getting hammered and higher then a kite."

Tasia returned her view to the apartment ahead of her, not taking eyes off the bedroom window, whose shades were drawn. "That drug also makes her want to hook up right?"

"Exactly," he said. "It raises the level of certain pleasure related hormones in the body. It's called _Party Time_ for a reason. You take it and you want to party in every way possible."

Tasia asked,"you mentioned that this was bad for the gym, how so? She isn't doing it in the name of the gym."

Alec turned to look at Tasia. "It's bad because it tarnishes the reputation of the gym, which costs me prospective clients," he said. " The last time she did this, she crushed the heart of a rather nice young man who took his grievances to social media. The fallout from that cost me about 20% of my foot traffic for prospective clients. I had to spend months rebuilding my gyms reputation. I can't risk this screwing the gym over again, especially not with the Jan Dul master coming all the way from their home world of _Janeris_."

Tasia recoiled a bit in shock, as she registered what he said. "A Jan Dul master is coming here? When?" she asked.

Alec continued staring at the dim apartment. "In a couple of months," he said. "It takes quite a trip to get here from _Janeris_. If this works out, we could possibly see students from _Janeris_ move here and attend. Since it is not a cheap trip, it means they have wealth. Money that I want flowing into the gym. It is a win win for all of us."

Tasia smiled at the thought of what the added funds would do for the gym. She knew that more funds meant more space for added equipment. As well as more high quality trainers of varying backgrounds. Tasia turned to Alec with a smirk on her face."That sounds awesome!" she said. "I get it now, why you're so worried about your reputation. This is a big deal and could make us bigger then ever."

Alec nodded his head. "Yep. This is a big deal. If we can get them to stay, I can effectively double our available services and expand our client base."

Tasia nodded her head before taking another sip of her _Stinger_ , and returned her focus to the apartment.

A few hours later, Tasia was daydreaming about things to come. Her mind flowed from one frivolous topic to the next. Topics ranged from shopping to finding a date, to the regular inanities of her job. She was, however, brought quickly out of her distracted state when Alec tapped on her shoulders.

"Heads up," he said. "Time to start recording." He turned his watch to the apartment and began recording.

Tasia looked towards the apartment and though the blinds were drawn, she could see the lights coming on inside. She turned her watch to the apartment and began recording as well.

A few moments later, the door to the apartment opened, and a man dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans was ushered out of the dwelling.

Following behind him, was Catherine.

She was wearing a white silk night gown so thin it did little to hide her nude form underneath. Before the man could leave, she pulled him down in a passionate kiss, as his hands slid inside her gown and clasped around her breasts.

They separated a moment later, as the man waved good bye and pulled away in his car. Catherine adjusted her night gown and went back inside, locking her door behind her.

Tasia and Alec both stopped recording as she locked the door. Tasia turned to Alec, a look of shock and disbelief on her face. " Jesus, Catherine! What the hell?!"

"Now you know why I asked you to come out here with me," he said as he pulled the car away and headed back to Tasia's vehicle. "I needed someone else to witness this."

"God! This will really hurt Tom!" she said, as she pounded her fist on the dash. "We need to tell Tom right away!"

Alec shook his head. "No," he said. "Not yet. I will let you know when. I need to see if she does the right thing and tells him herself. If not we will deal with it. I have a plan, but I need you to keep this quiet. Act as if you know nothing. "

Tasia finished her remaining _Stinger_ in one long pull, before she answered him. "Fine, I will play it your way. Tom is a good guy, he doesn't deserve this."

Alec nodded his head. "I agree, he is a good man. He just opened up to the team. I'm not going to let him fall back into that shell of his. It's been nice having a more open and fun Tom around."

"Hmph," Tasia said in a defiant tone. "I'm going to kick that bitch in the face."

Alec laughed at her comment, as he took a sip of water from his bottle. "Accidents do happen in sparring, don't they?"

"You're damned right they do," she said as she crushed the empty can of _Stinger_ in her grip.

They continued in silence as they drove back to were they met. Upon arrival they both agreed to meet privately later, and discuss the situation further.

XXX

Dr. O'Malley sat in his office at Warehouse 7, watching the Xenomorphs enclosure on his display. The creature was acting strangely, having refused the meal he just left in its enclosure. He watched with a curious expression, as the creature moved past the small cage left in the middle of the larger pen, and into one of the many dark corners.

He touched a button on his P.D.A and one of the spotlights that adorned the video cameras external to the pen lit up, bathing the corner in a bright white light. There in the far corner, he could see it.

The baby Xenomorph was pressed against the far wall, stretched out to its full length. He observed that its body seemed to be shaking, its long form wriggling back and forth.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at this. He brought his hand to his chin, rubbing it with his thumb and fore finger. "What are you doing in there?" he asked, speaking his thoughts aloud to no one in particular. He made sure his equipment was still recording the proceedings as he watched in silence.

XXX

She knew the time of her first change was upon her.

She felt as if she were being squeezed by the very skin she wore on her exterior, the pressure making the very act of moving a experience in discomfort. She didn't feel much like eating, as she was too focused on trying to relieve herself of the itchy feeling that had spread over her entire body.

So, there she laid, in the corner of this massive cavern, shaking and shuddering. Each movement bringing some small measure of relief from the terrible itchy sensation. Soon, she felt a change, and she stopped moving. A tiny rip had formed on her back. The tension surrounding her body seamed to lesson by a minuscule amount, prompting her to push against the new opening.

It took a great amount of effort on her part, to press her body against this tiny opening, but she could feel the freedom that lay beyond it, and thus was driven to finish what she started. She would push against the opening and then rest as she tired from the strain, repeating this cycle several times, with each one bringing more relief to her.

With one final, great push, she was free of her fleshy prison, and laid upon the cavern floor not moving. As she laid there, recouping her strength, she looked down and noticed that she now had new formations adorning her body. Beneath her had formed a pair of small arms, which were attached to a pair of clawed hands. Further down from that, she saw a pair of tiny legs stretched out behind her. She instictively stretched her arms and legs, getting to know the newest formations to come to her body.

She had begun to feel her strength return, and with it, her overwhelming hunger. She sat upright, and looked over to the entrance to the large cavern. The large bowl of food was still there, and its enchanting smell was pulling at her like a magnet pulls at metal.

Without thinking, she slithered over to the bowl of chewed up meat, not trying to walk on her new legs, as instinct told her they were still too weak to support her.

She dove head first in to the contents of the bowl, her smaller inner mouth racing in and out of her larger mouth, scooping up mounds of meat. Her euphoria was short lived however, as she exhausted the contents of the bowl, yet she was still far from sated.

She growled in annoyance at the empty bowl before smacking it with her tail, sending the now empty tin crashing into the wall with a loud thunk, impacting next to were it had first appeared.

She moved back from the wall a short distance and turned to face it, her tail twitching impatiently behind her, hoping more food would appear from the mysterious creatures.

XXX

For his part, Dr. O'Malley was shocked at the display from the small creature.

It really did appear to be annoyed at the lack of food promptly appearing before it. He shook the thought away as he watched the screen. It was patently preposterous for a creature such as that to feel even rudimentary emotion. Still something about its behavior made no sense. "If it is impossible for it to think or feel, why does it have the appearance of doing so?" he said to himself. "Thoughts and feelings require a very high degree of intelligence."

Dr. O'Malley ran his hand through his hair, trying to wrap his mind around this newest development. Then it hit him like a shotgun blast hits a flying duck, the real question that must be asked. "Just how intelligent are you?"

With this new question in the back of his mind, he left the comfort of his office to prepare a far larger meal for the object of his study.

XXX

That evening, as Tom lay asleep in his private hospital room, safe beneath Cerelon Mansion, he began to dream again.

He found himself walking down a deserted city street, through a thick, omnipresent fog in the dead of night. As he walked down the sidewalk he would cast his glances all around him. He was looking for someone, his _Dark Angel_.

The thick fog obscured most of the features of the road ahead of him, which gave him a growing sense of foreboding.

He tried to call out to her, but he found he had no voice. He tried again and again, shouting louder each time, but again found himself voiceless.

It was then that he took note of his surroundings, and how utterly desolate the city was. A city of 35 million would never be this quiet, and devoid of life.

He took off running, calling to her, but no sound leaving his lips. His chest slowly began to tighten as the first tendrils of fear began to sink into it, as he took off in a dead sprint to find her.

He felt his heart quicken as he raced down the streets, finding each one as lonely as the last.

As he approached yet another deserted intersection, he began to panic as a new realization dawned on him.

He was alone.

Everything he knew, all his friends, his girlfriend, everything that mattered to him were gone. Replaced with a onslaught of oppressive silence, the sound of which rang in his ears like the wail of a siren.

He had to find someone, anyone really, just to have some company. For it is not a natural state of affairs to be alone, and he couldn't bear the thought of living his life devoid of contact.

As he continued to run down the center of the street, he began to cry. His tears streaming down his face, as he called out in vain to anyone that may hear him.

He dropped to his knees in exhaustion, and slammed his fist onto the pavement. He cried harder now, his worst nightmare having come true.

He has lost everything, and would now have to live in isolation. Cara was gone, and so was Catherine and everyone one else he has formed friendships with.

He collapsed to the pavement, burying his face in his arms as he cried. He looked up from his arms, wiping the tears from his eyes, to see the smiling visage of Catherine hovering just feet from him. He made a move to run to her, embrace her, but with every step he took she seemed to float away from him.

Soon he was running towards her in a full sprint and her ghastly image fled from him at a pace that no vehicle could match. Nothing he could do would bring her to him, and it felt like her departure from his life to be the work of inevitability.

Soon she had disappeared from his sight, leaving a exhausted Tom to once again collapse to the pavement, sobbing uncontrollably.


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors notes. Hey everyone, I am sorry this took so long to get out. I have had some Life issues to deal with, and as such had to take time to deal with them. I think that I should be back to a regular update schedule now, as some things are calmer now. I am grateful for every reader and reviewer I have gotten, and will get. Thank you guys for your valuable input. I need it, as the more feedback I get, the better my writing will become.**

 **A night of Firsts.**

Tom was roused from his final measure of sleep when he felt a strange, wet sensation lapping across his hand. He gasped with a start, withdrawing his hand as he turned his head and gazed into a pair of soft blue eyes. The eyes of a Starwolf.

Tom knew it to be a female, judging based on the animals short tusks adorning the top and bottom of its mouth. It was a large example of the species, roughly the size of a African lioness. The scales on its body featured a weave of dark browns and blacks, tapering to grey from the neck to the muzzle. He knew it to be old, as it featured a rather prominent silver field growing around the edges of its mouth, and spreading back towards its eyes.

Tom's attention was drawn behind the large creature when he heard a low chuckling sound. To his shock, he saw Donald Cerelon standing just behind the wolf, petting its back.

"Don't let Weena scare you," he said chuckling again. "She's just a big softy."

Tom slowly lifted his hand towards her head and held it there. After she gave his hand a quick sniff, she rubbed her head against his palm. Tom smiled as he brushed his fingers over the scales of her muzzle, sweeping his finger tips back towards the expanse of grey scales just past her large ears.

"I've never actually touched one before!" Tom said with a grin as he continued to brush his fingers over the animals scales. "They are smoother then I thought they would be." Which was a facet of Starwolf physiology that he was surprised by. At first glance the scales are thick and intimidating, jagged and angular. Yet, they were smooth as a fingernail to the touch.

Tom looked up at Cerelon a curious look on his face. "How did you get her so friendly?" Tom asked.

Donald grabbed a chair and sat it close to Tom's bed, and took a seat. "I found her about 20 years ago, right after I took over as executive from my father," he said to Tom as he petted her back. "She was bred as part of my Fighting Wolf Program. One night, a now... _former,_ employee of mine, kidnapped his ex girlfriend's child, and threw him in one of the pens. To everyone's shock and elation, instead of being eaten alive, the child was instead found sleeping on Weena's stomach. She kept it safe and warm until one of the handlers could come, and remove the child."

"What happened to the employee?" Tom asked as she scratched her behind the ears.

"Firing squad," Donald said as if it was nothing.

Tom raised an eyebrow as his lips curled downward in a exaggerated frown. "Yeesh! You don't mess around!"

Donald shook his head and laughed. "Nope, not a damn bit," he said. Then his voice became cold and menacing, his eyes narrowed. "I don't tolerate crimes against children."

Tom tilted his head as a question crossed his mind. "So wait.. You've been running this place since your early twenties?" Tom asked.

Donald fixed a crooked half grin on his face and nodded his head. "That's right," he said. "My parents had me late in life. By the time I hit Twenty, they were ready to retire. So I stepped up." He ran his finger through his hair, and then straightened out his suit coat as he resumed petting Weena. "You want to talk about on the job training, try running half a planet."

"Good Christ! I couldn't even begin to imagine!" Tom said shaking his head.

Donald closed his eyes, remembering that exasperating first day. "You have no idea!" he exclaimed, a wide grin on his face. He brought one hand up and messaged his forehead. "There was a stack of work on my desk a mile deep. I spent the better part of 16 hours trying to sift through it all!" They erupted into a cacophony of laughter as Tom tried to picture just how massive his pile of work must have been on that day.

Tom's laughter, however, was cut short when he felt a sharp pain go through his back, making him wince in pain.

Weena edged closer to Tom, tilting her head as she placed a paw on his bedside. As the pain subsided, Tom laid his hand on her massive paw, and she lowered her head to give his hand a lick.

"You doing alright?" Donald asked. "Just take it easy."

Tom nodded his head as he continued to pet the scales on Weena's paw. "Yeah, it's gone now."

Just then, Weena's ears perked up and she turned her head to the doorway, her long tail wagging as she looked back to her master.

Donald smiled and pat her on the head. "Is that your baby?" he said to her in a playful voice."Go get him!" She took off with out a second thought, and trotted out the door.

Tom could hear the tell tale sound of claws treading upon tile flooring as Weena moved down the hallway to greet whomever had arrived. It was then that Tom heard a second set of claws tapping upon the tile flooring, but the sound was heading his direction.

"Weena!" said a familiar voice just outside his door. "How are you old girl?"

Tom could hear her whining with excitement as they approached. Soon, the source of the voice rounded the door way, and revealed itself to be Roy Larkden, Cerelon's _Executive Assistant._ Trailing just behind him was a large male Starwolf with tusks almost as long as a banana. As large as a African lion, it had black scales covering much of its body, becoming a ruddy brown from the shoulders to muzzle.

As they entered the room, Weena reared up on her hind legs, placing her paws on his shoulders, her muzzle now even with his face. Roy chuckled as he rubbed her head with his hands, while she planted several sloppy kisses on his face with her large tongue.

Roy's wolf, whom he named Bruce, took up a spot near the end of Tom's bed and sat down on his haunches. Tom smiled at the sight before him. That giant Matriarch wolf greeted him like it was one of her own pups. He never thought them capable of such affection for people. It made him wonder what it was like growing up as a young man with a Starwolf as a pet.

"Alright, Ok. Its nice to see you too," he said as he gently pushed her off of him.

Donald looked over at the man, who walked up to Tom's bedside. "What's going on Roy?"

"Oh, nothing big. I just came to give Tom these," he said as he fished a large pill bottle from his pocket and handed it to Tom. Inside the bottle, Tom could see them. A multitude of pink and yellow striped capsules with 4 holes the size of pin heads drilled into the center.

Tom looked from the bottle to Roy with a puzzled look on his face. "What are they?" he asked.

"Penicodone, I got the script from Dr. Falton for you," he said. "It's a mild narcotic pain killer mixed with a anti-bacterial medicine." Roy then held up his mechanical arm and flexed its fingers. "I take them because of this. While I don't have a natural arm there anymore, I still feel phantom pain, and these are the only way to make the pain stop."

Tom grimaced at the word _narcotic_ , and the vision of Cara's raging lunacy that surged forth from his memories. "How addictive is it?" Tom asked, his voice soft and foreboding.

Donald spoke up this time, as Tom turned his attention to him. "While it is still a narcotic, it has the lowest risk of addiction out of any painkiller in its class on the market," he said to Tom. He then nodded towards Roy and his mechanical arm. "I directed the various pharmaceutical companies to begin research on a safer painkiller, in large part, due to Roy and his unique circumstance. Thanks to our developments in reducing the addictive qualities of most recreational drugs, we were able to carry that research over to this. Now it's popular all over the Galaxy, and it is only made here."

That last statement Donald said with a knowing smile. For he knew that the companies located on his planet were the only place to get it, and that meant lots of credits flowing into his city. Donald added, "I, and the companies here in Goran make medicine that is better then the stuff made by Weyland-Yutani. As big and powerful as they are, they let far to many side effects through to the customers."

Roy's eye's narrowed, his lips thinning into a slight frown. "Don't get me started on Wey-Yu, I can't stand them," he said, his voice dripping with venom. The look on his face told Tom that Roy had far more that he could say on this issue, but was holding back. A moment later however, the mask that reeked of anger and suspicion was dropped in favor of Roy's usually friendly demeanor.

Roy stepped closer to Tom and patted him on the shoulder. "Look don't worry to much about it. It can become a problem if you over do it, so just take it easy, and use it as directed by Dr. Falton, and you will have no problems."

Tom looked up at Roy and nodded his head. The edges of his lips curling into a feint smile. "Thanks Roy," he said. He then held up the pill bottle and stared into it before looking back at Roy. " Are their any side effects?"

"Not too many," Roy said shaking his head. " You may feel a little spacey at times, and being a narcotic, it can weaken your ability to fight off infections. Though thanks to the antibiotic in it, that shouldn't be much of a problem. You also may have some bowel issues, just to be forewarned."

Tom thought about the side effects, and smiled. " Bowel issues?" he asked. "No crap!" eliciting a vigorous round of laughter from the men.

After they calmed down from their joviality, Roy brought his biological arm up and began tapping on the screen, searching through the applications. A minute later he finished his search, and Tom's computer watch began to chime. "There," he said as he finished tapping the screen of his watch. "That is my personal contact information. If you ever need anything just call me. Though, do keep that number confidential."

Tom, in a state of shock, could only nod his head, as he found himself unable to speak. Here the second most important person in the city just gave him their personal contact information, but that was not the only big shock he would receive.

Roy turned to walk out the door, telling Donald he had _business_ to finish. He stopped before crossing the threshold, and addressed Tom. "Also," he said his eyes locking with Tom's. "I saw your scores on the precision rifle range. Quite impressive. You're not One Thousand yard certified yet. So when you are a little healthier, I will personally get you certified. We will also work on other, more direct skills."

He then nodded to Donald and walked out the door, with Bruce following behind him. Tom could barely believe what he just heard. Roy Larkden, _Executive Assistant_ to Donald Cerelon, was going to be taking him on as his personal student. He was so overcome with excitement at the proposition, that he didn't stop to consider why an _Executive Assistant_ had need of those kinds of skills.

Tom knew of Roy's skill as a competitive marksman, but knew not much else about him.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of Donald clearing his throat. Tom turned to see him standing up, and moving the seat back to the wall.

"Well, I do have to get going. I have a city to run," he said to Tom as he moved to stand next to his bedside. The tone of his voice lowered, a serious, commanding look on his face. "It goes without saying that you're not to speak about what was removed from you. The creature will be revealed in due time. When it is fit enough to fight in the arena. So your cooperation in this is non negotiable."

The color drained from Tom's face as he took in the threat. He opened his mouth to speak, and it came out weaker then he had wanted. "Yes sir. I won't say a word."

Cerelon clasped Tom's shoulder and gave it a strong squeeze, looking down on him with a smile. "Of course you won't," he said, his voice beginning to return to its normal tone. "However I have taken a measure to ensure you won't. Please check your account records. Do it now, I'll wait."

With his heart racing, Tom turned his computer watch towards himself and began to go through the applications. He didn't know what he would find. Did Cerelon seize his savings and retirement accounts to force him to keep quiet? Or was it some other sinister plan? Upon finding the accountant application, Tom opened it, and his heart nearly stopped. His jaw hung open at what was before him on the screen.

"Holy _shit_!" Tom yelped. He tried to utter more words, but found his mind incapable of forming them, or even maintaining a coherent thought, as he processed the changes to his records. "That's a lot of zeros!"

Donald laughed a deep belly laugh at Tom's bewildered state. "I knew that would be a sufficient motivator to keep this secret," he said. "I learned long ago that threats were not always the best way to get what you want. Sometimes, this is the easiest way."

Donald Cerelon then stepped away from Tom and to the exit of the room, stopping just short of the threshold. With his face showing his satisfaction, a wide smirk grew on his lips. "Welcome to the .1% Tom."

As Donald crossed through the doorway, he turned and looked at Tom. "Oh, and I would advise against telling _anyone_ , including Catherine, about your new found wealth. Money has a way of changing people. The super rich don't have a lot friends Tom. Just people who want to use them."

With that last bit of advice, he departed for Cerelon Tower. Leaving Tom to contemplate his new circumstances.

XXX

Dr. O'Malley sat down in his chair, and resumed watching the video monitor. It was late afternoon, and he had just returned from preparing yet another large meal for the fledgling Xenomorph. As he watched, he typed a few commands on the screen, and it split into two views. One was the interior of the creatures pen, the other was his research notes.

He occasionally glanced over to the other side of the screen at the Xenomorph, while he typed his notes into the document.

 _The Xenomorph has had its second molt, and appears by my estimate to be a little over four feet long, tip to tail. It still can not walk on its rear legs, and as such, walks on all fours around the pen, supporting its weight with its tail as it crawls. Its appetite is growing quickly, as it now requires a quarter side of beef, mixed with the ground entrails and inorganic elements to sate its ravenous appetite._

 _I have had to send for yet another supply of the various inorganic elements it is consuming. It never seems to tire of it. One thing is for sure, my theory that it uses said elements as part of its structural makeup has been proven true. As its exoskeleton is starting to take on shade of Titanium grey. No doubt owing to the large amount of Titanium in its diet._

 _I must endeavor to find a a way to get a sample of its exoskeleton once it is full grown. I am curious to see how its natural bio-metalization and mineralization has organized the Titanium, and other inorganic elements with in the structure of the exoskeleton. I do not have enough information to formulate any kind of official finding, but I do have a theory. I suspect, that its exoskeleton will not be brittle like that of a common insect, but will be tougher, capable of some degree of flex while maintaining a high degree of hardness. All thanks to the high concentrations of metals in its diet._

 _Much like the alloy steel plate inserts used in the body armor of soldiers._

 _It was truly a stroke of inspiration, straight from the Goddess herself it would seem, that told me to feed it inorganic material. In a way I should thank Dr. Falton for that as well, as she is the one that noticed the embryo leaching out the metallic elements from Mr. Maxton's bloodstream. Not that I will ever tell her as much._

O'Malley saved his latest entry to his research notes, and sat back in his chair to watch the creature. It had finished eating its meal and was again resting in the corner of the pen.

"Shouldn't be long now till it molts again," he said to himself. "Then it may actually be strong enough to stand on its own two legs. Should be fascinating to watch it learn to walk."

After spending a few minutes observing the now sleeping Xenomorph, and being contented that a new molt was not imminent, he began to go over the blood chemistry data he had received earlier.

As he poured over the information displayed on PDA, he noticed something peculiar. He leaned forward on his chair, trying to focus his eyes on the screen. The embryo had leached just about everything of nutritional value from Tom's blood stream. However, one item stood out from the rest, and that was Copper. It leached out as much of the crude metal from his system as it could get. A not insignificant feat, considering just how much of it was being supplied to Tom's blood stream by Dr. Falton.

After he made his observation, he made a few notes in his research file, telling him to up the amount of copper in its inorganic supplement powders.

Placing the PDA upon the desk in front of him, he reclined back into his chair, continuing to observe the creature. "Why copper?" he asked himself in hushed tones. "It is a soft metal, and a great conductor of electricity, but a poor choice for hardening a exoskeleton. I just can't see any benefit it gives the creature." He cupped his fingers around his chin as he sought to puzzle out the reason for needing a crude metal in such quantities.

An hour later, after returning from another feeding, the answer came to him. Copper is a extremely common metal, found in abundance all over the universe. In the absence of other inorganic materials, ingesting copious amounts of copper would add a needed degree of flexibility and toughness to their exoskeleton. Which would be hard and brittle otherwise.

He smiled, his face mirroring his confidence as he typed his theory into the research notes. "I won't know for certain until after it has some fights," he said to himself. "Which sadly, are a necessary evil."

He ran his fingers through his hair, continuing to smile as he began to think of the various creatures it would be pitted against. "The amount of data I will acquire from just a single fight alone justifies the risk to its life," he said, his face becoming dark as a new idea formed in his mind. " And if it dies, I know just the people that would not be at all adverse to cloning it."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest as a subtle grin formed on his face. While he may have been watching the young Xenomorph on the screen, his mind was 2000 miles away.

XXX

As she rested in the corner of the cavern, her belly full from yet another scrumptious meal, her thoughts turned to who was missing.

She was bigger now, able to sense far beyond her cavern walls, and into the unseen areas. She could feel them, the predators that surrounded her. By their very scent, she knew them. They were strong and confidant, and healthy. Her potent sense of smell also told her that many were related to each other, with the non relatives being the more dominant males.

Yet, she still could not smell or feel her Sisters or the Mother. She tried to reach out to them with her mind, as she had done many times before, and as always, silence.

She cried out, releasing a long guttural screech. To those who had the ears to hear, this cry was filled with pain and sadness, reverberating with the depths of loneliness and despair that gripped her heart. Several of the mysterious beings that stood vigil outside the clear cavern walls, seemed to be shaken by her cries, with the taint of fear beginning to permeate their scent. A moment later, the scent of fear began to fade to oblivion as she quieted down, folding their arms behind their backs, resuming their quiet vigil of her.

Then she began to think of _The One._

She remembered what it was to feel him in her embrace, the warmth of his being penetrating her to the core. She longed for that moment again, to touch him again.

However, she couldn't feel him, and in fact, hasn't been able to feel him since after they were parted. She held onto a sliver of hope, as she knew that he wasn't dead, and had somehow survived her birth. She didn't feel the sudden termination of their bond as she would have if he had died, only that it gradually got smaller. As if he were moving away from her.

She cried out in agony, the sound coming out as a stuttering moan, as she longed for his embrace, both mentally and physically. To enfold herself within his mind, and hold him tight to her chest.

She brought her hand up before face, opening and closing her fist. As she was flexing her fist, she stopped mid contraction to stare at her claws. The were small, still forming even. She still had one more change to go through before she could grow into her adult form, and when she arrives at adulthood, her claws would be strong and sharp.

Then she would find a way out of her prison, and seek him, and nothing would stop her. She would tear apart anything in her path till she finds him, then never let him go.

For she is the loneliest being in the universe. Made to be part of something bigger, but right now she felt very small against the backdrop of a solitary life, threatening to destroy her very sanity.

He was her obsession, the one thing that would complete her, and erase the loneliness she had to endure for what felt like a eternity.

If she could find him then all would be ok.

XXX

Tom spent that afternoon with one of Cerelon's Financial Planners, getting investments established, and money divided up between stocks and bonds, with the remaining 25% staying in his regular savings account. He felt content at the conclusion of the meeting, knowing that he had been responsible with his new found wealth, instead of squandering it like a newly minted lottery winner.

While his savings account was now a lot lighter then it was a few hours prior, with 75% of it having been invested in some fashion, he still had far more money in the account then had previously. He was glad that he had chosen this account all those years ago, as it was a interest generating account, and compounded said interest quarterly. That money would likely stay in his savings account, as he was not spend thrift by any stretch.

On top of this, he still had his separate account, his special account. This was one he had been working on since he started getting serious with Cara. It was why they had to live so modestly for those years, a decision he now regrets. He had been, and will continue to, invest a good deal of his weekly earnings there. He had been saving a quarter of his paycheck each week in this separate account for good reason.

He was going to ask Cara to marry him, and use the money to take her on the vacation of her dreams. So he saved his money. Which was never a problem for Tom, considering that growing up his family was not wealthy by any stretch. Then after the disappearance of his parents prior to his 18th birthday, he had to take care of himself. Living on the edge of poverty for years had made him a frugal person, and a prodigious saver. If there was one thing he was considering to splurge a good deal of money on, was upgrading his home. Going from his modest apartment on the west side, to a luxurious condo on top of a tower in the North District.

Though, such a move might attract the kind of attention Cerelon warned him about, and he did not want his relationships to change due to money.

He glanced over to the door, hoping to see Catherine, who had not seen since Saturday morning, walk across the threshold. Not seeing her, he resumed watching the Sunday evening news.

His heart was a volatile mix of competing emotions, each fighting for time at the front of his consciousness.

His emotions seemed to be changing as quickly as the humming bird changes the flower from which it drinks. They were ranging the entire spectrum from anger to mirth, sadness, to despair and loneliness. He was not certain this was a normal state of affairs for his emotional state. He would have to talk to Dr. Falton about it tomorrow at his check up.

Right now, in that moment, he was angry and Lonely.. Angry that Catherine had yet to appear from her fight. His loneliness was born out of the quietness of the private hospital he found himself in. He was the only patient there, only a handful of nurses and Doctors called this place home. He had been forced to turn on the monitor, and watch boring Sunday shows in order to keep his anxiety at bay.

For he was alone, and could not stand it.

Like in his dream the night before, the silence was deafening, and seemed to be closing in on him from every corner of the room, only being held at bay by his computer monitor.

With the passing of time, his eyes grew heavy, and sleep was coming to claim him yet again. He was not eager to sleep anymore, as now his dreams would not be filled with the happiness and warmth that he had come to enjoy, and his bed would once again be empty in the morning. Much like it had in those dark and lonely years after the disappearance of his parents, and before he met Cara.

He could not help it that his thoughts returned to Cara.

How they met so long ago in that meeting room.

XXX

His job was to protect the Trade Enforcer and her apprentice Cara, as they negotiated a deal with a pair of gang leaders. Him being too obese at the time to do much of anything else but be a bullet sponge guarding a doorway.

He was captivated by her, and how beautiful she was. Her ebony hair and petite frame, drew him like a moth to a flame. How he dreamed of just brushing his fingertips across her fair features, and down the supple curves of her body. A fantasy at that point in time, he knew to be in the realm of delusion.

In a instant it all changed.

The first muzzle blast came out of nowhere, the bullet striking the senior Trade Enforcer in the temple, killing her instantly. The strung out gang leaders grew tired of the conditions set by Cerelon. So they decided to show their dissatisfaction by killing his representatives.

Tom's heart raced as a fusillade of gunfire began to erupt in the meeting room. Seeing that he could not save the senior, grabbed Cara by the back of her blouse and spun her around, pulling her to him and holding her close, sheilding her with his bulky frame, as they opened fire on the both of them. Tom grit his teeth, the pain, like hammers smashing his back, coursed through him, as the projectiles struck the Bullet Resistant vest he had on.

He spun on his heels, ignoring the searing pain screaming from his back, and pushed Cara to the floor as he drew his pistol, taking aim at the first one his sights swept across, and opening fire. The two gang leaders bullets impacted his chest, sending a lightning bolt of pain through his chest at the same time his first round of shots hit his target. His first volley of fire sent the first gang leader crashing to ground, blood oozing from the wounds clustered in his chest.

Tom swept his pistol to the right, centering the green dot on the center of the remaining gang leaders chest. In a burst of blue muzzle flash, they both opened fire.

The green dot danced in place as Tom pulled the trigger, sending his rounds into the heart of his enemy. Tom winced as he was struck by projectiles, again feeling as if he was repeatedly struck with a hammer, this time to his chest, as both participants exchanged fire. However, as soon as it started, it was over, as the final gang leader slumped to the ground, blood trailing along the wall as he slid down.

Sliding a fresh magazine in his pistol, he picked up the two dead gang leaders guns and tossed them into the hall, and ran over to Cara. He found her still on the floor were he pushed her, curled into a tight ball, her knees pulled up to her face.

Tom ignored the shot of pain that wracked him as he knelt down, his bulk making his knees hit the ground with audible thud, and touched her shoulder.

She turned her head with a start, a look of fear on her face. She was about to let out scream but stopped when she saw that it was the guard.

He looked down on her, with concern written on his face and spoke through labored breath. "Are you ok Miss?" he asked her.

She tried to speak but found her nothing would come out of her mouth, so she simply nodded her head. He smiled at her and scooped her into his arms, pulling her close to his body, and carried her out of the office. Where they were met by the approaching army of Security staff and medics.

Tom handed the young woman off to the medics, who wheeled her out on a stretcher. He watched as she was taken away, wondering if she would be ok, ignoring the probing hands of the medics as they cut away his shirt and Bullet Proof vest.

For the moment, he did not feel the sting of pain that he would feel later, as the surge of adrenaline had numbed it. Shaking the final thoughts of her from his head, he turned to face the concerned medics who were trying to examine him.

XXX

Tom smiled at the memory of his first encounter with Cara. Who would have thought that someone as obese as he was, would end up with a woman like her? A woman who could put a Lotus to shame with her beauty.

"Never thought I would see her again," he said to himself, as a tear began to form in his eye. "Boy was I wrong!"

He smiled as the memories of his next encounter with the ebony haired woman flooded into his mind.

It was that following weekend from the shooting in the office. Tom had just finished a meeting with Cerelon and his supervisors. He had been promoted in rank and given the well paying job of guarding Warehouse 7, and then given time off to recuperate from his ordeal.

He frowned as he remembered the orders he received from his supervisors, that this was as far as he could go, career wise. If he wanted to go higher, he needed to get into shape.

He didn't like the thought of punishing himself with torturous workout routines and a diet that would starve a rabbit. However they were right, he didn't want to guard a empty warehouse forever, so he would try to loose some weight. Though at his considerable bulk, it was not going to be a quick process.

As Tom relaxed on his couch, safe in his apartment, he read through the various bits of information on the Net regarding weight-loss.

The hours went by in a blur as he was inundated with information. He felt as if his mind would burst from all the numbers and advice columns from skinny doctors. He always disliked naturally skinny people, for they had the annoying tendency to try and tell heavy people how to loose weight. As if their advice was applicable to their unique situation.

Plus he hated their self righteous attitudes...

He was brought out of his self loathing by the sound of his computer watch chiming. Looking down at the small display he was puzzled by the number he saw on the screen. It was not one he recognized. So imagine his shock when he swiped the app, and on the screen was Cara's smiling face.

Tom felt a lump in his throat as he struggled to say anything to her. Thankfully it was Cara who broke the ice first.

"Hi," she said. She had a soft grin on her face as she regarded him.

"Hello," Tom said to her, a sheepish smile forming on his face. "How are you, you doing ok?"

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking," she said, her voice soft and soothing. "I was wondering if you would meet me for dinner. I want to talk about what happened."

Tom was taken aback by this question, his brows raised in surprise. He was never expecting to see or hear from this angelic beauty again, yet here she was talking to him on his watch.

"Well?" she asked, in a soft yet firm tone.

"Yeah, sure. When do you wanna meet?" he asked. He must have looked puzzled and shocked, as he heard her giggle before she answered him.

"How about in one hour?"" she asked through the last of her giggling. "Meet me at Jack Lanes?"

"Sure," Tom said. He pursed his lips in thought as he recalled the type of establishment that she had chosen, and how expensive this night was going to be. "That's a nice place, so I'll try to dress up."

"Good. I'll see you there," she said with a warm tone, her face forming a slight smile. "And maybe I will dress up too."

After saying goodbye and closing the app, Tom got up from his couch and headed into his bedroom. Staring blankly into his closet, he scratched his head as he looked for something decent to wear.

"Don't want to embarrass this girl to badly, so might as well look my best," he said out loud to himself.

After some rummaging he found something that might pass as decent. A almond brown suit, light brown shirt, and matching dress shoes. After taking a quick shower, he dressed in his suite and matching tie.

Before scooting out the door he dabbed on some cologne, _Essence of the Willow._ A sweet smelling aroma that recalled the calm splendor that once was the Northern Irish forests.

Satisfied he was at least presentable, he headed out the door, and on to Jack Lanes.

Tom, smiled as he remembered what Cara wore that evening. A little black dress that seemed to hug every curve of her perfectly sculpted body. He was almost a loss for words when he saw her. What ever he was thinking in that moment was interrupted as she threaded her arm around his, as he escorted her into the restaurant.

XXX

Her final change was coming, then she could grow into her adult form, not now, but sooner rather then later. So she was relaxing in the corner, digesting the meal she just ate, when she noticed it. She had felt a ripple through her mind, coming from somewhere far away. Like the warmth of a candle amidst the cold of deep winter, she felt it; happiness.

Through her mind, her link to what should have been her hive was active, and she felt the smallest pin prick of emotion trickling over it. She could still not sense her Mother or Sisters, so that meant only one being could be sending these happy, warm emotions.

 _The One._

He was alive, and she was feeling his emotions, however it was small, and dim against the back drop of empty white noise that normally filled her hive connection.

She tried to reach out to him over the hive link, send him some warmth and happiness, but she could not. He was much to far away to be reached, and she was still far too little.

Her resolve to escape surging, she was filled with a renewed sense of hope and joy. She began to bounce in excitement, her voice filling the air with happy chirps and cooing, as she bounced on her feet, unable to contain herself, and her excitement any longer.

All she had wanted since their separation was to feel him, and she was met with cold loneliness over the link, but now?

There he was!

XXX

"This is big!" Dr. O'Malley exclaimed as he typed his research notes. "Weyland-Yutani's information never mentions these vocalizations, this is fantastic!" He wore a wild grin on his face as he listened to the creature. He was indeed correct, that the information he got from Weyland-Yutani did not contain information on these sounds, just the normal growls, hisses, and screeching that they normally produce. So this was uncharted territory and he was the first to explore it.

His filled to the brim with excitement at the prospect of being the first to expand humanities knowledge of these creatures, especially by witnessing behavior that, so far, no one had studied before.

It was times like this, that remind him of why he became a Xenobiologist.

XXX

Tom smiled, then took a sip of water as he recalled that night. He closed his eyes, his hands laced behind his head. He was not asleep, just content to relive the warm memory of her as he lied there, the sounds of the news playing on the monitor droning on in the background.

XXX

That evening had started of on the quiet side, as Tom was unsure how to even talk to her. However, a few glasses of wine later, they both had opened up. Tom remembered how easy it was to talk to her, how she had a quick wit, and an adorable laugh. It seemed easy to provoke her sense of humor, and she seemed to be able to do the same thing to him as well. Laughter came easy as they compared stories from their lives in the big city of Goran. Stories of horrible first dates, interesting movies they saw on the NET, or the latest live shows put on by the Theater.

As the evening came to an end Tom escorted the young woman to her car. She wore a smile a mile wide, her arm still laced around his as if it belonged there. As they approached her car, he stopped and opened the door for her. Before getting in, she looked inside at something he couldn't see in the backseat, and then back to him.

"Hey. I had a really good time tonight," she said to to him. Though she wore a smile, there was a look on her face that seemed off. Something Tom was not familiar with, but she was trying to communicate with her eyes, and the very expression on her face. "How about a Night Cap?"

"Sure," Tom said. However, he didn't know what a Night Cap was. He could hear her giggle as he looked out the corner of his eyes, brows arched as he tried to puzzle out what a Night Cap actually was. Not coming up with anything he looked back over to her and asked, "Uh. What's a Night Cap?"

Cara put her hand to her mouth, to try and stifle her soft laughter. "A Night Cap, is were I head back to your place, and we have a few drinks. Then actually talk about the thing that happened at the office a few days ago," she said, her voice soft and melodic, yet becoming serious and low, as fear and sadness flashed around the edges of her words.

Tom rubbed the back of neck, as he considered what she had suggested. "Sure, Ok,"Tom said, his inflection suggesting he was unsure of her idea. He tapped through the apps in his watch and sent his information to her.

Cara's lips curled into a half smile as they exchanged address information. "Great!" she said, her voice now cheery and warm, her half smile becoming a soft grin. "I'll meet you there!"

After saying a brief goodbye they parted ways, Tom heading back to his apartment.

An hour later, Tom was sitting on his couch, watching yet another talking head news show on his monitor. Having taken a shower, and changed into his signature sweatpants and t-shirt, he was unwinding from the day.

He looked up at the clock on the wall, shaking his head, with a sarcastic grin on his face. "Heh," he said quipped to himself."I knew she wouldn't come over. Why the hell would she."

He sat in silence as he watched the monitor, dread building for the coming work days. He felt annoyed that he allowed himself to be duped into such a obvious joke at his expense. Knowing that he will be the butt of many cruel jokes during the coming weeks sent a shiver down his spine. He did not want to deal with that, though he knew he had no choice but to endure. So endure he would, silently ignoring their jabs and barbs, until such time they bored of it.

As he walked into the kitchen to get a drink, he was stopped in his tracks as his doorbell rang.

Tom looked over at the door, his brow arched. "Couldn't be?" he asked to himself.

He was shocked to learn how wrong he really was when he opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was Cara, still in her tight little black dress, and a large, black leather bag slung over one shoulder. Tom noticed that in her other hand, she had a bottle of Port wine. It appeared to be a medium aged Tawney Port, at 20 years old.

"Oh, hey!" he said, his mouth hanging open just a fraction, head tilted to the side, a picture of confusion on his face. He stepped aside, ushering her inside, the sweet smell of her perfume wafting up to his nostrils, leaving a growing, but still shy smile on his face.

"Sorry I am so late," she said, placing the bottle in the wine chilling compartment inside a slot in the refrigerator door. After closing the door, she tapped the control panel to the chiller, and a red light lit up on it. Also on the panel was a unlit blue light, sat next to a small display, counting down the seconds till the wine was cool. "I stopped to pick up the wine, and it took me longer then I thought it would to find a good one." As she said that, she moved to his living room, placing her bag on the floor next to his couch, and taking a seat.

Tom ran his hand through his hair, and moved to sit on the far end of the couch. However, before he could sit down, he heard the chime from the refrigerator. He looked back to Cara, and asked, "would you like a drink?"

"Sure," she said, as she brushed a lock of ebony hair out of her face.

Tom nodded as he walked into the kitchen. As he poured the drinks, he heard his monitor come on, the channel changing from news to one of the many movie channels, this one playing a romantic space drama. Placing the bottle in a decorative stainless steel bucket of ice, he grabbed the two glasses of Port and walked back to the couch.

After setting the wine bucket on the coffee table, he handed Cara a glass of the copper colored liquid, and took his seat at the end of the couch.

They sat in silence, as the movie played.

Sipping on the contents of his glass, Tom cast sideways glances out of nervous eyes towards the young lady seated just a few feet away from him. The Port was something Tom had never had before. It had a sweet taste, hinting of apricots and tangy berries, shadowed by a soft nip of smokiness, and a mild warmth as it went down.

He glanced again at her, and noticed her glass was nearly empty. She apparently really liked this Port. He went to stand up, and offer to refill her cup, but she had already stood up, and walked the few steps over to the bottle, taking it in her cream colored hands.

"I got it. Thanks though," she said in a soft tone. "You're looking a little low your self." She filled her cup, then bent over to refill his cup, her brown eyes locking with his. They were soft, expressive eyes of the deepest brown he had ever seen on a person. Warm and inviting, he could sit and gaze into her eyes forever, as if looking deep into her soul.

"Thank you," Tom said, as she replaced the bottle back into the wine bucket, breaking him from his temporary fixation on her eyes. As he took a long sip from his glass, he felt the seat cushion next to him move. Lowering his glass he looked over, and to his surprise, Cara was now sitting mere inches from him.

Tom cleared his throat, nervously glancing from his glass over to the petite beauty sitting next to him, earning a short bout of giggling from Cara, before settling his eyes on the monitor.

After a few minutes, he heard her clear her throat in a manner intent on getting his attention. He looked over to her, and met her gaze. She looked at him through amused eyes, her brows raised, her head cocked to the side, a wry smile on her lips.

"You know, you don't have to be so nervous," she purred. "Especially considering how much fun we had at the restaurant."

"I'm sorry about that," he said, his gaze dropping to the floor, as he rubbed the back of hand. "It's just, I am not used to having company, and honestly I didn't expect you to come. Now I feel like a moron for changing into sweatpants."

"Don't worry about it, you're doing fine," she said in soothing tones. She took a long drink from her glass and finished it, and sat it down on the coffee table. "Besides, I told you I would come, and here I am."

Then, as if the energy had been sucked out of the room, her expression changed. She took on a look that hinted of fear, and worry.

"I guess now is the best time to talk about it," she said. "I want to know why you saved me. I didn't even acknowledge you being there until you grabbed a hold of me. Why risk yourself for me?" she asked, her eyes pleading for an answer. "You could have just retreated, saved yourself a lot of pain."

Tom gave her a small half smile, and finished the remaining measure of Port in his cup, before setting it down on the coffee table. "Because I had to, it was my job," he said matter-of-factly. "I may not be much, but I take my job seriously. Besides, I could not have lived with myself if I just ran off and left someone to their death."

"So it was just that simple, huh?" she asked. "It was your duty to protect me."

"Sorta, yeah," he said to her. "But that wasn't the only reason. Like I said, I couldn't bear the thought of not trying and doing nothing, and watch someone die."

"Did it hurt when you were shot?" she asked softly, her gaze traveling over him, trying to see any exposed wounds. "You were hit a bunch of times!"

Tom rubbed his chest and chuckled. "Oh yes it did!" he said. He then tapped his chest twice with a grin."But thanks to my vest, I am ok. Though I am gonna buy a new one, as the one I am issued is too thin. Felt like I got hit in the chest by a sledge hammer!"

"Can I see?"

Tom's grin faded, his face taking on a look of confusion. "What?"

Cara stood up from the couch and held her hand out to him. "Can I see where you were shot?"

His face began to redden, as the realization of what she was asking set in. He took her hand and stood up from the couch. His face turned a bright shade of red, his pulse quickening as he took off his T-shirt.

Tom shut his eyes, hoping to avoid seeing the disgust on her face as she took in his obese form. He expected her to gasp in shock and head for the door as fast as her legs could carry her.

Instead of hearing his front door slam shut and her car speed away, he heard the distinct sound of wood dragging on carpet as the coffee table was moved away to the center of the room.

A moment later, he heard her move behind him. His skin broke out in goose bumps as he felt her finger tip trace a circle around one of the many dark bruises on his back.

"You know Tom, a lot of things are attractive to me," she said.

He let out a silent gasp, as she drew her fingers up his back, tracing small circles around the multitude of dark bruises. Her touch was soft as a feather against his tender wounds, leaving goose bumps where ever they traveled and sending a chill racing through his body.

"Big muscles, nice ass, great hair and dimples. You know, all the standard fair," she said, her tone dry, as if reading from a shopping list.  
His eyes still shut, Tom winced, as he was in possession of none of those traits. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard her move around to his front. Then he felt her finger touch one of the bruises on his chest, tracing it in slow, circular motions.

"But you see Tom, I find something else attractive as well," she purred. "This," she said as she touched another of his bruises. "and this," she said as her fingers danced their way up his chest leaving a trail of goose flesh in their wake, before settling a little higher on another circular bruise. "and these," she said, laying her palm across a cluster of bruises over his heart. "I find these very attractive. Especially since they were earned saving my life. They tell me a lot about you Tom."

Tom opened his eyes as he felt her hands lift from his chest, and snake their way behind his head, pulling it downward towards her ruby lips. He let out a breath he did not know he was holding, as their lips met. Tom, not knowing how to kiss, didn't move, just puckered his lips, earning a confused look from Cara as she broke away.

"Sorry, It's just, I have never kissed anyone before," he said in a hushed tone, his head drooped, eyes casting an embarrassed gaze at the floor.

Tom looked up at her when he heard Cara's soft giggle.

"I never would have guessed!" she said with a sarcastic smile on her face. She placed her hand on his chest and with a gentle push, guided him back down to the couch. "Time to remedy that problem."

Tom looked at her with nervous glances as she led him back down to the plush couch. His stomach was twisting in knots as his heart pounded in his chest. He had no idea what to do or how to do it. As he reclined back into the couch cushion, he started to try and say something, anything in defense of his lack of man skills. However, before he could say anything, she pressed the bottle of Port to his lips and bade him drink.

After taking a long drink, she took a long pull from the bottle and sat it down on the floor next to the couch, and hopped up on Tom's lap. Tom looked shocked as she straddled his thighs, her knees coming to rest against the sides of his hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her face only inches from his.

"Ready for an education?" she whispered.

He nodded his head, his lips morphing into a shy smile.

"Good, now copy what I do and try to relax," she muttered, as her lips again met his.

XXX

As he began to feel the pull of sleep upon him, he laid there was a smile on his face as he recalled the memories. That night was a night of firsts for him. First date with a woman as beautiful and refined as she was. Not to forget the highlight of the night, the first time holding a woman in his arms, or his first real kiss.

He was forever grateful at her patience with him that night. Never complaining as she took the time to teach him how to kiss a woman. Not that such a lesson required much talking, just lots of practice. Which payed off as he was a quick learner.

He would never forget how her lips tasted that night, like a delicate mix of cinnamon and vanilla. She always seemed to taste sweet, a fact he enjoyed every time he partook of the kisses offered to him.

Tom chuckled softly as he recalled what happened next.

After getting drunk and finishing the bottle of port, they both passed out on the couch. He remembered how pleasantly surprised he was that next morning, when he awoke to find her still sleeping on his chest. He loved the feel of her lying there atop his chest, light as a feather, a pleasant burden he was more then happy to accommodate. He enjoyed the feel of her warmth, even through the black dress she was wearing. Or the scent of currants, and spice wafting up from her hair, only inches from his face.

He had thought it a lovely dream, one which would only lead to disappointment upon waking, as the dreamer awoke to find the angel was never there. However, that was not the case, as his angel was still there, still sleeping in his arms.

None of that compared to the biggest surprise yet in store from her.

That next Monday, Tom never expected her to talk to him, or even acknowledge they had met over the weekend. So, imagine his shock when, after clocking in for the day, she strolls up to him in the middle of the employee lounge area. He smiled when he saw her, but before he could utter a greeting, she pressed her chest against his, and pulled him down into a deep, lingering kiss.

A chorus of gasps was heard as the multitude surrounding them took in the sight. When she broke the kiss, a mischievous smile formed on her face. Tom remembered the looks on their faces. Their were whispers of shock and dismay moving through the crowd, the look of revulsion on some faces, and surprise on others.

"See you tonight after work," she said in a casual tone, yet loud enough for everyone to hear, before walking away to start her work day, as Tom stood there dumbfounded.

He could not even manage a simple goodbye, as his full attention was captivated by the sway of her hips, and the pronounced affect it had on her plump, curvy rump. The rest of that day, despite manning his post in the busy meeting center, Tom's mind was in a different place, replaying that enchanting scene over and over again in his mind.

XXX

As Tom drifted closer to sleep, his smile faded, his mind loosing the the blissful happiness he had reminisced in.

He did not look forward to tonights slumber. Two things were now missing, one of which he can never regain, his Dark Angel. He has come to miss her warm embrace in his land of dreams, and now that Cat was yet again not there to sleep with him, he despaired at how truly alone he was.  
He was also aching to have Catherine in his arms tonight, feeling her familiar warmth pressed against him. He didn't know why she has not shown up in the last day and a half, or why she won't call, but it was beginning to frighten him.

Had she rejected him, and not deigned him worthy enough to tell?

He pushed those thoughts away, considering them only to be artifacts of his newly acquired emotional instability.

It wasn't long after, that the cold loneliness of sleep swallowed his consciousness whole.

XXX

Having finished another meal, she was curled up in the corner of the large cavern, her feet and arms tucked close to her chest. Her tail, which had grown to be as long as her torso, was curled around her, its tip coming to rest near her face.

Her last change was fast approaching, and with it, she could grow into her full adult form. As she laid there, she didn't focus on the growing discomfort that her ever tightening skin provided her, instead focusing on the memory of _The One,_ and the emotions that came from him.

She no longer could feel him, the emotions trickling over the link lasted only a few minutes. However, she relished those fleeting minutes, each one feeling like a moment in paradise.

She could still recall the pin prick of warmth that flowed from him, to her, over their fledgling mental link. She grasped at the small point of warm emotions, pulled it close to her heart, and fixed it there, allowing its tiny presence to warm the cold loneliness of her existence.  
She held on to it, holding it close, relishing the newfound connection, only to have the cruel hand of fate pull it from her as the link faded into oblivion.

As before, when she awoke in this strange cave, she mourned the loss of _The_ _One._ However, her despair did not last. Though she loathed the loss of the link to him, it renewed her hope. Hope that she would have the strength to escape, and find him. The strength to take him away from these strange creatures, whom do nothing but watch her every waking moment.

She could not fathom what they may be putting him through. If how she was being treated, held prisoner against her will, and forcibly separated from the single most important thing in her life, then he must be going through some horrible torture as well.

As she felt the skin on her back starting to tighten to its limit, a sign for her to begin her final change, she renewed her vow.

She would escape, and find him. She had to, she hated this feeling of emptiness. Like a great swath of her mind had simply been cut from her body. Finding him would fill her void, and bring her the sweet relief her heart so desired.

She knew escape would be difficult, so she has spent much of her time studying the tall creatures. She knew their patters, were they stood, and how often they came to her pen. Her hive memories told her many things that would be helpful to her escape. Such as the fact that they are reliant on their eyes, and as such, can't see well in the dark. She knew her kind had many advantages over them. Like not needing to turn her head to see were her prey was, for instance. No matter what part of the room she was in,or where her face was pointed, she knew exactly where they were.

Their over reliance on their vision makes them vulnerable.

She also considered the other predators here. Why were they all held in bondage here? Could she possibly use them to help effect her escape? They could prove a useful distraction if she were to release them all.

Her plan was in its infancy now, but she knew with time, and more, careful observation, she would find a way out. It was only a matter of time. Time needed to continue to study her captors, and her surroundings.

All she had to do was be patient, and she would be able to formulate a plan.

She had to remain patient if she were to be reunited with _The One._


End file.
